Family Bonds of a Different Kind
by Joei Write
Summary: Sequel to "What are Friends For?". During the first summer of the next generation, warmer temperatures force Emperor Land to move to safety for the rest of the season. The Happy Feet Family however, gets split up after a tragic accident, and everyone is forced to find one another and rally before they all get lost for good. During the struggle, their inner family finally comes out.
1. Prologue: Recap

**It is a continuation of the 'What are Friends For?' Series taking place after 'The Song Epic'. Characters introduced are only characters we've met in the stories so far, new characters will come later.**

One would say that there's a serenity unmatched as the crimson sun slowly set over the horizon far away from the ice which looked like it was resting from the long cold winter. The sun had started fading like this ever since the penguins of Emperor Land had reunited with their mates' and were enjoying the summer whilst raising the next generation. Among this generation were some of the most promising students Miss Viola had ever seen; these students were Jake, Gabriel, Kourtney, and Syrena. Of course Miss Viola wasn't surprised seeing as how these chicks had parent of such pure and hearty voices, except for Mumble. Jake was the son of Mumble and Gloria, Gabriel was the son of Erik and Bo, Kourtney was the daughter of Atticus and Nicki, and of course, Syrena was the daughter of Age and Hayley.

Of course, none of these penguins had a smooth path to getting where they were now. Mumble was an outcast from birth, seeing as how his father, Memphis, had dropped him and caused his vocal chords to freeze and stun his growth patterns. Gloria was at the top of her class, but she was friends with Mumble and everyone gave her a hard time for it, so even though she was popular, she still felt the same pain her friend, and future mate, did. Erik was the son of Mumble and Gloria, and he had a voice that had previously gone unheard in Emperor Land. His voice was specialized in opera singing and boy could he hold some exceptionally long notes. Erik's mate, Bo, was also a friend of his when he was younger and then grew up to be his mate, she was an image of courage to her generation, but struggled when she and Erik decided to become mates before the day of the pairings. Nonetheless, Erik and Bo did what they did for love, and they're perfectly fine right now. Jake was the little brother to Erik Mumble and Gloria decided to have, and they were thrilled about raising another chick. Atticus had been a friend of Erik and Bo growing up, and at first didn't believe in true love; but then he met Nicki and his whole perspective changed. Nicki had a voice for street style music just like Atticus, so they fell in love at the first song. Their daughter, Kourtney, hadn't found her style of music yet, but her mother said she need not worry. Kourtney was always turning to Gabriel, Jake, and Syrena for her worries, but her friends always came through. Gabriel was the chick of Erik and Bo, but he preferred to just be called Gab, for it was catchier to him.

But no three penguins in Emperor Land at the time were more respected and sympathized for than the family of Age, Hayley, and Syrena. Like Erik and Bo, Age and Hayley wanted to become mates before the days of pairings, that's how Syrena came along; but what really shocked the penguins of Emperor Land was the past of Age and his mate. They had come from a nation that was considered to be the best in Antarctica, no nation, not even Emperor Land, could compare with the musical talents that were born under the shadow of the mountain where they lived. But right after Age and Hayley's generation was born; they caused a horrible avalanche that wiped their beloved nation off the face of the ice. Only a handful of penguins survived the disaster, among them were Age and Hayley. Separated from each other after the event, they grew up far apart and never knew the other was alive, until a fateful meeting in a special hideout where they both went. There they realized they were alive, and found their feeling for each other, which were long since forgotten. Following their becoming mates, Age was violently attacked by a group of skuas and barely survived. But he had made a recovery and was given the chance to see his daughter get her heart song.

Syrena, however, wasn't so sure of what she wanted in life, she had many questions and doubts, she had a loving family and great friends, but to her, she wanted more. She needed to be sure to fulfill her father's dreams of redeeming himself to his parents and lost friends. Even though his song about a week earlier **(That's what the story 'I Was Here' is about)** had freed Age of this pressure, Syrena was struggling to understand that this was no longer a concern, so she, like her father before her, was carrying the weight of an entire nation on her back. Whilst she tried to balance it, she met someone, and that someone changed what she wanted in life and would make her go distances that few penguins had ever gone. And this, is how our story begins…

**If you couldn't tell, Age and Syrena are going to form a very close bond throughout the story. In this part of the series, the title of main character goes to Age and Syrena. **


	2. Syrena's Gambit

**This is the first chapter; the previous listing was a prologue for readers who haven't read the first 3 stories. I estimate there'll be about 5 chapters if all goes well. This is the story of not only Age, but Syrena as well. Oh, and I finally came up with a title!**

Family Bonds of a Different Kind

Chapter 1

Syrena's Gambit

The touch of ice on a lone Emperor Penguin's feet would've made him shiver if he had a sense of numbness. This penguin had endured so much that when it came to sadness, he didn't, he couldn't feel anything. He watched the sun slowing dive over the ocean with his beloved daughter on his feet. But a sudden question from the curious little chick changed the proud father's view of everything that was about to come.

"Pa, what if there's more to life than singing?" Syrena asked her father. Age had been a good parent, but like all good parents, sometimes the things his child spoke to him sent him into deep thought. Age wasn't sure how to answer, his whole life, all he had ever known was singing; this question sent his mind to the darkest corners of his subconscious and lurked there until later in the future.

"I don't know Syrena, but my best guess is…yes. There probably is more to life than singing, and in your 'grandpa's' case, dancing." Syrena made a note of what her dad said and her mind too, was then lost in thought.

"Maybe, there's more to the ice, and maybe even more than those aliens grandpa told me about. What if there's a force, a destiny, or even a fate that we can control, and that fate…makes us realize who we are, and what our place is in the world?" Syrena continued to leave her father speechless.

Up to this point, Syrena was always fiddling around and not paying much attention to anything, not even practicing her heartsong. This was a very severe notion on Age's part because his daughter was half expected to be the best in class of her generation. Age had continuously tried to get his daughter to concentrate day after day, but her curiosity of the world around her made Age realize that what his daughter was saying now seemed to be the indication of things to come. He began to try and accept that his own daughter wasn't going to be a great singer or dancer like the other members of the family, but she'd be Emperor Land's first thinker, or philosopher. Syrena showed an interest in almost everything she saw or heard besides singing; though this was a concern to Age, he knew that if his chick wasn't destined to go down the same road he was, he wouldn't force her to. He was told how Memphis once tried to force Mumble not to be who he was, and Age swore that he'd never to that. If his little girl wanted to focus on things she felt were more important, then so be it.

"Syrena…you amaze me. The way you try and find an answer to everything, the curiosity you possess, it's awe inspiring. I know that one day; the penguins of both our nations will look to you for wisdom, and strength. You'll be the one they turn to when all else they have to come to believe and look to has vanished. This I promise…no, this I swear to you Syrena." Age said gazing into his girl's eyes. She just smiled with her cute little beak, and this sent shockwaves of delight and satisfaction through our heroic father.

"Thank you Pa, and I promise when I do, you'll be the first one to see, and the first one I hug afterwards." This meant more than everything to Age…

(Back in Emperor Land with Gloria, Hayley, and Bo having a girls' night)

"Okay, how about this one…would you rather get chased by an orca or listen to Memphis try to rap like Atticus or his pa." Bo seemed to think she had come up with a good one.

The girls hadn't been playing this game for very long, but they were already sick of Bo and her 'would you rather' 's. The whole time she thought of obvious ones that would typically require no thinking. "Bo..." Hayley said to her friend as Bo turned towards her. "Don't you think your questions are a little...I don't know, obvious?" Bo stopped to ponder the thought and decided they were a little on the 'No duh!' side.

"I guess you're right Hayley. Maybe they are sort of, um well, well you know...obvious." Bo said with a guilty grin. Gloria hadn't said a word during this whole spat, so she figured she'd step in.

"I'll tell you girls something, I love Mumble with all my heart, but it is kind of nice to get out with all of the girls once in a while you know?" She put the thought out there and Bo and Hayley seemed to agree.

"I think you're right too Mama. We love our mates unto the ends of the ice and back, our lives just wouldn't be the same without them. But every once and a while I do like to hang out with friends." Bo said to Gloria. Bo was mates to Gloria's son, Erik, so that made Gloria her 'other' mama. Hayley was the mate of Age, but they still considered Age to be family, so Hayley could call Gloria Mama if she wanted, but she usually didn't, while Age usually did. This thought made Hayley speak up.

"I like getting around with you guys, but at the same time there's this guilty feeling I have for leaving Age by himself to watch over Syrena. Almost like I feel like I'm a bad mother." Gloria and Bo understood the feeling.

"I get what you mean Hayley. When I was raising Erik and the Doomberg rolled in, I felt sorry I couldn't help Mumble comfort Erik." Bo seemed shocked by this, for she was down in there with her almost the whole time.

"Gloria! Are you crazy? You sang that song to him, what was it called...?" Hayley reminded her of the power ballad she sung to Erik.

"Bo...it was called Bridge of Light **(By P!nk)"** she said with a wink.

"Oh yeah, thanks Hayley; you sang that song to him, and let me tell you, Erik wasn't the only one you touched with that song." Gloria felt grateful to Bo for the words of inspiration.

"Thanks Bo, but you know what...? All this talk makes me wanna be with Mumble and Jake."

Hayley was having such a memorable time with her 'mama and sister', but Gloria made a good point. It's important for the girls to get out, but Age and Syrena never left Hayley's mind. She truly was feeling guilty for not being home with them. Gloria then continued with her little voice of reason speech.

"It's just, I love hanging out with you girls, but...I love my boys even more. I don't feel complete without them around and I can't be away from them for very long. I don't know if this is abnormal, or if it's just real love." Gloria hung her head in thought, but Bo picked up where she left off.

"Oh my gosh...you're right mama. Now that you mention it, I really do miss Erik and Gabriel already. How long have we even been away from them?" Hayley stood up and looked at the sun, it was nearly gone over the horizon.

"I'd say about 6 hours." Hayley said.

"That's way too long, I gotta go." Bo said and walked out scurrying home. Gloria got up from her seat too and walked over to Hayley.

"Don't worry about a thing dear. I'm sure Age and Syrena will be back soon anyway, you know how Syrena likes exploring and watching things, like the sunset." Gloria said gesturing to the sun. Hayley just smiled, the girls' night had been hosted at Hayley's home and that means that for the past 6 hours, Age and Syrena were gone and off somewhere.

"Thanks...mama." Hayley said to Gloria. Gloria just smiled and gave Hayley a hug and walked off to her own house where she'd find Mumble and Jake playing around.

Hayley always thought of Gloria as a mother to her, but she rarely ever called her so. The fact that she lost her real mother, Amanda, made her sort of feel guilty about how she treated other important women in her life. Ever since her Uncle Richie took her in and then moved to Emperor Land with her, they've had such little contact. Hayley knew she couldn't spend enough time with Age and especially Syrena, but she missed communication with her real family. Unfortunately for her, she had to accept that they were all gone. Age, Syrena, and her Uncle Richie were the only real family members she had left.

(With Erik and Atticus cresting their chicks on their feet)

"Gab, now don't you give your 'Uncle' Age a hard time. He's due back with Syrena any minute." Erik was busy preparing Gabriel for his first sleep over at Syrena's home.

"I won't pa." Little Gab said. "Jake, do you think this will be fun?" Gab asked Jake. As weird as it was for Jake to be Gab's uncle and have them be almost the same age, Jake and Gab just pretended they were friends instead and didn't want to hear how they were really related. Although they knew it was true, sometimes they just had a hard time believing it.

"Pa?" Kourtney asked Atticus.

"Yes dear?" Atticus said to his chick.

"Do you think Jake likes me? I mean he's been really nice to me lately, and he's always smiling at me." Atticus wanted to laugh but he was afraid he'd offend his daughter.

"Kourtney, just because someone is nice and polite to you doesn't mean they like you, like that anyway. Why do you ask?" Atticus said.

"Well...because I kind of like him, like that." Kourtney said with glimmering eyes.

Atticus was somewhat startled by his daughter's announcement. She had a crush on Gabriel's uncle? Really...Kourtney was infatuated by Jake? He was appalled by the idea at first, but soon came to the reality that any penguin born in the same generation had someone else that they were destined to be lovers with. Just as Mumble to Gloria, Erik to Bo, Age to Hayley, and himself to Nicki. Atticus faced the facts and just had to accept that if Kourtney was the match up to Jake, he'd just have to deal with it.

"Alrighty then sweetie, if you like him like that then...go for it I guess." This was Atticus' first parental advice about love, and he clearly wasn't ready for it. At least he wasn't like Age, Syrena asked Age about love on the day she hatched. "Yeah, there's someone for everyone. So if you think Jake is him then, uh..."

"You've said too much." Erik said to his friend, giving him the escape from the conversation he so desperately wanted.

"Thanks Erik, I owe you." Atticus whispered to Erik. After that, Kourtney hopped off of Atticus' feet and waddled over to play with Gabriel, Gabriel then hopped off Erik's feet and walked up to Kourtney.

"Hey, wanna play Catch or Chorus?" Asked Kourtney, Gabriel thought for second and pointed out an obvious fact.

"What are we supposed to catch?" Gabriel had a good point. Kourtney thought for a minute and then told Gab her idea.

"We could just play with snow balls." She said to Gab. Gab didn't understand her thinking, but luckily he didn't have to, because after she said this a voice broke out from a distance.

"Is everyone ready to go?" Age said to the group. He was walking with Syrena on his feet and she was smiling a huge smile. Erik took a brief notice of the chicks, Gab and Kourtney; they seemed ready enough to go to him.

"Yeah, they're ready. I'm telling you bro, this isn't going to be easy. Having three baby penguins at your home at the same time? Geez, I can barely keep track of one." Erik had rarely let Gab out of his sight, but he still felt he wasn't doing a very good job. Age however was a natural at watching his chick, plus he's been the host of penguins before, one could say he was a skilled sitter from the beginning.

"You wanna know my secrets? Well, my secret is the advice you gave Emperor Land a long time ago." Age said to Erik.

"What? What advice are you talking about?" Erik said to Age. He was very confused; he didn't even know the famous quote from Sven that inspired him so many years ago.

"Erik, if you want it, you must will it, and if you will it, it will be yours." Age said, Erik's eyes lit up with remembrance. Age just smiled.

"Come on kids, who wants to see Aunty Hayley?" He said to Gab and Kourtney.

"We do, we do, we do!" The two chicks chanted. Age just smiled at all of them and laughed. He stole a glance at Syrena and his light bulb went off. "Psst, Syrena…why don't you guys walk together, I'll stay back and watch you." He whispered to her.

"Hmm, oh…okay pa." Syrena mumbled. Then she stepped off Age's feet and the three friends ran off ahead of Age as they headed towards his home. Age loved chicks, so he knew this was going to be fun.

As the four walked back to Hayley, Age heard their entire conversation, and he was intrigued most by everything Syrena had to say.

"I had a really nasty fish today, my mama said she didn't know it was nasty, but Pa said he knew some of the fish might be bad." Kourtney said out loud. Syrena's counter statement was not the normal response.

"Hey Kourtney, what do you think caused that fish to be bad? Did it eat something bad that caused it to be bad? Or maybe it had a problem somewhere on the inside." Syrena was a thinker, no question.

"I don't know Syrena, but it's nice to see someone trying to find an answer. That would be kind of cool to know…wouldn't it Kourtney?" Gab said to the two of them.

"Hmm, well I guess it would be nice to tell how good a fish is, you know so we don't eat anymore bad fish." After that, the shadow of a bird swooped over the three chicks, but they didn't need to worry and neither did Age, it was Sven. He flew over to Age and followed him on the ground with a slow and steady walk.

"Greeting friend, how is Age doing?" Sven asked Age.

"Age is doing fine, how is Sven?" Age and Sven talked like this all the time, they had recently become really great friends. **(This is how I talk with a friend of mine)**

"Sven has just given another spectacular show to the adelie nation, and he also wished you were there to watch." Sven had been giving air shows to the Adelie penguins ever since he was found to be a puffin. And Age had been meaning to watch one of these shows with his 'pa' and the Amigos.

"I'm sorry Sven, you know I've been meaning to go to one of those, but it's just been really rough lately. I mean, even tonight I'm hosting a sleep over for my chick." Age was being sincere with his words.

"Oh I'm sorry Age, it's just…every time I do a show I hope to see you and your family in the crowd. Because you're my friend, one of the few actually, but there's more of a moral sense to it. I feel that if you watch a show and you're shown just how much I've grown since lying about being a flying penguin, you wouldn't be the only one to see I've really changed. Every show makes me think of you and Earik." Age was following his speech intently, but was thrown off Earik.

"Sven, I've said it before, his name is Erik, not Earik." Age had tried to explain this to him many times, but Sven's accent got in the way. "And if you really wanna know how Erik's doing, his chick is the one on the right side of those three up there." Age said pointing to the friends ahead. Sven just smiled and was about to fly up to Gab when a voice started calling for Age.

"Age come quick!" Age didn't know this penguin, but it seemed urgent enough. Age turned to Sven who was also interested in the distress call.

"Sven, take the kids back to my home, I'll meet you there later." Sven nodded and bulleted off after the kids; "Now what's wrong?" Age asked.

The mystery penguin was riddled with sadness as she spoke, "It's your uncle-in-law, he's been injured."

"What, Richie? Where?" Age said with instant concern.

The two rushed to the edge of the ice where Richie rescued Age about a year before, when he got there, he would've given almost anything to be told his eyes were betraying him. For before him lie his uncle-in-law, tore across the chest and stomach. His body was stained with his own blood and Age couldn't find the tears to cry, there couldn't be any more tears. Age nonetheless rushed over to his Uncle Richie and tried to speak to him.

"Richie, Richie...can you hear me?" Richie was weak beyond comparison, but he still found the will to talk.

"Age...? My Age...? Ha...I knew you'd come, how could you not?" He was speaking very slow, but Age still managed a response.

"Yeah, I'm here Richie...what happened to you?" Age asked.

"Well...let's just say, if you think there's a killer whale in the water, don't go swimming." Richie forced a smile and let his head fall back. Age turned to the nurse through the group of penguins who were surrounding and trying to help and asked her,

"Is there anything to be done? Can you not help him?" Age asked with fierce determination to help out Richie. But the nurse just got dreary eyes and lowered her head.

"I'm sorry Mr. Age, but by this point, blood loss would kill him anyway. If that whale hadn't got his chest and stomach, he might of had a chance." Age refused to believe that his Uncle was dying.

"Age...listen to me..." Age heard Richie say as he was about to continue questioning the nurse, so he turned back to him. "When I'm gone, you and Syrena will be all Hayley has left...Hayley..." he said with a single tear falling from his eye. "My little Hayley...she's all grown up, with a strong willed mate, and a beautiful daughter...and now I pass this role of masculinity to you."

"Richie no, don't talk like that! You're gonna make it you have to, you can leave the three of us here by ourselves! We lost our home, our families, and all our friends...please, you're all we have, we can't lose you too! Please Richie...you have to make it through this!" Age pleaded his heart out to his dying Uncle, but his cries were in vain.

"Age, Age...my little, sweet, brave nephew...my successor, my soul, my will, carry out these words to Hayley, and my dear Syrena...forgive me for what I did to you last year, I was just trying to protect Hayley from making the wrong decision. But this wasn't the wrong decision...you gave her hope, life, and something I could never fully give her...love."

"Richie, no...no."

"I'm sorry Age, remember these last words? Tell this story until old age, age, age..." Richie said as he felt his heart stop beating, and fell back...gone.

Age was suddenly belligerent to everyone around him, so everyone gave way as he attempted to cool himself down. But nothing was working; the rage he felt from watching his Uncle die right in front of him drove him down to the bottom of the ocean and back up to the surface. Mumble had just arrived on the scene and noticed his 'son' on a hellfire rampage. Of course, since Mumble raised Age, he knew exactly how to calm him down. The problem however, was that Age was flailing his flippers and screaming to the air that it was apparent that no penguin would even have the smallest guts to get near him. But Mumble still thought of Age as his son, so it was his job as a father. Mumble slowly crept to Age and once he got close enough he just managed to grab his shoulders to stop his flailing and look his right in the eyes with a look of disappointment and sympathy. Age stood froze at who was staring at him, and after he realized how much of a monster he'd been acting like, his eyes just began to water. After a few moments of him tearing up, he just broke down crying throwing himself into Mumble's shoulder. Mumble did his best to comfort him, but no words can comfort the loss of a family member. As Age continued to sob, Gloria came through the crowd and looked to see Mumble holding Age in his flippers. Gloria knew it was clear that Age had something happen to him. Mumble then noticed that Gloria was there and he then slightly gestured with his beak over to the dead penguin. Gloria looked and instantly recognized the corpse as his Uncle Richie despite it being maimed from head to foot. It shook Gloria to the core and looked back at Mumble and mouthed 'Where is Hayley?' to which Mumble responded 'I don't know.' After that Gloria took off through the crowd as Mumble gazed at his sobbing son.

"I'm so sorry Age…" Was all he could say.

"He was all I had left! I don't care if he was an in-law! He was all _we _had left!" Age said. Mumble knew that by _we_ he meant him, Hayley, and Syrena. "How am I gonna tell her?" Age cried into Mumble's shoulder some more. Mumble then had an idea that might comfort him.

"If you want, I could tell her." Mumble offered to Age. But Age just pulled away and shook his head.

"I appreciate it Pa, but this is something she can only hear from me." He said as he began to walk off to the direction of his home. As Mumble watched walk away, familiar voices hit his ears.

"So, his Uncle is…uh, muerte?" It was Ramon.

"Yeah, and I don't think he's gonna deal with it very well." Mumble said.

"Just teach him what we taught you." Mumble hadn't heard this voice in a while, but he knew it by heart. He spun around to respond.

"Hi Pa, Mama." He said to Memphis and Norma Jean.

"Look sweetie, I know you didn't have to go through this as a chick, but comfort and care are key here. You've got to make sure he doesn't feel alone." Norma Jean was in a way right, but Mumble knew otherwise.

"All honesty Mama, I'm not worried about Age. He's dealt with many deaths before; I'm actually worried about Hayley…"

(At Age's home with the kids and Hayley)

The kids had been at the home for some time and it was safe to say they were having a ball. They played games, and laughed, and were completely oblivious to what had happened in the outside world. As Age approached his home, he heard the laughter. He knew that this would have to be kept a secret from the kids until later but Hayley was going to have to find out about this, and there is no way to ease something like this. As he neared the entrance, he heard that they were playing a non-catching version of Catch or Chorus.

"Alright Mama, your turn." Syrena said after she was finished. Hayley thought for a moment and then sung a song off the top off her head to her little girl. **(For the World- Me)**

_Close your eyes child_

_Dream of what will be_

_The way you'll see the world_

_And the way it'll see you_

_Lay your head into a thought_

_And think of what could be_

_Watch the sunset_

_Cast a bridge over the sea_

_And think ahead_

_For the world_

_Yeah the world better get ready for you_

_For_

_The world…_

Age was just as enchanted by his mate's voice as he always had, but the news he was bringing made him and his enchantment fade almost as soon as it came.

Age put on a slim smile and walked in, much to everyone's delight. "Age, where have you been? We've been having so much fun!" Hayley said with a smile and a wink.

"Pa!" Syrena said jumping up and running over to her Pa, hugging his leg. Age's smile got bigger.

"Hi sweetie, and you too Hayley." He said giving Hayley a kiss and Syrena a returned hug. But the mood was set back by Age's next remark. "Um, Hayley…could I speak with you." Hayley had a smile that vanished swiftly and gazed at Age with uncertainty.

"Uh, sure…why?" She asked with suspicion.

"Please, outside; I don't want the kids to hear this." This got Hayley a little scared, she was about to reply when Gloria came in and broke the conversation.

"Hayley! Age has to tell you something! You guys go, I'll watch the kids for a little while." Gloria said as Age nodded and leaned down to Syrena.

"Be good to Grandma Gloria okay?" Syrena just nodded and nuzzled beaks with her daddy as Age then escorted Hayley out.

The two walked off to the distant mountains where they would be sure that no one was eavesdropping on them. When the two reached the base of one of the mountains, Age turned to Hayley with sadness and depression in his face. Hayley had been asking herself what this could have been about the whole time walking, for they had said a word to each other. While she was trying to figure it out, Age was contemplating how to even say it. But he decided to be as loose as possible.

"Hayley, I took you out here because I didn't want the kids to know about this until later. So that they can you know…handle it. All honesty, I don't wanna tell you this either." Age was really starting to terrify Hayley, he made it sound like he wasn't in love with her anymore.

"Age, what's going on?" She was determined to find out before she broke down crying.

"Hayley…Uncle Richie is dead…" Age got no response from Hayley; instead, she gave him the same reaction he had when he found out.

"No…no…you're lying! Tell me you're lying!" Hayley started yelling at him. Age just let his head fall.

"You know I'd never lie to you Hayley…I'm sorry." Age was about to try and comfort her when she fell apart and ran off up the mountain side. "Hayley!" He called after her, but it was no use. Higher and higher she climbed until she was out of sight. _I can't let her leave! She needs someone to hold her right now! _Age thought climbing after his love. Age slowly made his way up the ice looking in crevasses, ditches, and small caves he found along the way, but she was nowhere to be found. As Age was nearing the top, he heard a small whimper; he looked to see footprints in the snow and lone penguin who was encircle in a snow free environment. He assumed that Hayley had cried so much the water from her tears melted the snow. Age slowly walked up behind her as he listened to her cries, but as he reached her, she turned around and threw herself into his flippers. Age didn't bother keeping track of how long she was crying into his shoulder, but as she was done, she could barely speak.

"How…? How did he die?"

"It was an unfortunate encounter with a killer whale. Turns out if you think it's there, it probably is."

"Where were you when this happened?"

"I was escorting Syrena and her friends back to the sleep over. And then all of a sudden, a mystery penguin appears out of nowhere and tells me to rush to the cliff."

"I just refuse to believe it's true. Now…you and Syrena are it. That's it, we've officially lost everyone." This sent a shock through Age, but it caused something else.

"But you still have us…" **(This I Promise You- N'sync)**

_Oh, oh, oh, oh_

_Ooooohhhhh…._

_When the visions around you,_

_Bring tears to your eyes_

_When all that surrounds you,_

_Are secrets and lies_

Age had felt this song come to him, and I was already having its impact on the mood between the two lovers.

_I'll be your strength,_

_I'll give you hope,_

_Keeping your faith when it's gone_

_The one you should call,_

_Was standing here all along…_

_And I will take_

_You in my arms_

_And hold you right where you belong_

_Till the day my life is through_

_This I promise you_

_This I promise you_

Hayley seemed to be believing Age's words, but like any woman, she wasn't convinced yet as she was still hurting emotionally.

_I've loved you forever,_

_In lifetimes before_

_And I promise you never..._

_Will you hurt anymore_

_I give you my word_

_I give you my heart _

_This is a battle we've won_

_And with this vow,_

_Forever has now begun..._

_Just close your eyes _

_Each loving day _

_And know this feeling won't go away _

_Till the day my life is through_

_This I promise you…_

_This I promise you…_

_Over and over I fall _

_When I hear you call_

_Without you in my life, baby_

_I just wouldn't be living at all..._

_And I will take _

_You in my arms_

_And hold you right where you belong _

_Till the day my life is through_

_This I promise you, baby_

_Just close your eyes_

_Each loving day _

_And know this feeling won't go away _

_Every word I say is true_

_This I promise you_

_Every word I say is true_

_This I promise you_

_Ooh, I promise you..._

_Oh, oh, ooohh…_

That clinched it; Hayley was officially eased from the pain she felt by knowing that Age would never leave her. Until his dying breath he'd stay with her.

What the now kissing couple didn't know is that a certain curious little penguin had followed them without the detection or the concern from Gloria or the two of them. Syrena had sadly heard the news and spoke out after our lovers kissed for a few moments following Age's song.

"So then it's true…" She said with a small voice, the two shot looks right at her and their eyes widened with awe, relief, and shock. Syrena then belly sledded down the mountain to Age didn't know where.

"Come on, we have to find her!" Age and Hayley both nodded as Age sledded one way and Hayley slid another. They both followed footprints and sled marks but she was nowhere to be found. The couple had been searching all night for their daughter, but the one credited for finding her was Age. He had been following a set of off base tracks and noticed a puff ball out of the corner of his eye. He knew that Syrena had a special place she went to when she was feeling lonely or ignored, just like he and Hayley did; but Syrena's sadness made Age feel like he was getting eaten alive. He tried to find the words to say as he quietly approached, but he was frozen in place by what took place after that. **(Go the Distance- Michael Bolton)**

_I have often dreamed_

_Of a far off place_

_Where a hero's welcome_

_Will be waiting for me_

_Where the crowds will cheer_

_When they see my face_

_And a voice keeps saying_

_This is where I'm meant to be_

_I'll be there someday_

_I can go the distance_

_I will find my way_

_If I can be strong_

_I know every mile_

_Will be worth my while_

_When I go the distance_

_I'll be right where I belong_

Syrena never really practiced her singing, but regardless she was absolutely phenomenal. Age's beak dropped to the ice as he listened to his daughter pour her soul to the sky.

_Down an unknown road_

_To embrace my fate_

_Though that road may wander_

_It will lead me to you_

_And a thousand years_

_Would be worth the wait_

_It might take a lifetime_

_But somehow I'll see it through_

_And I won't look back_

_I can go the distance_

_And I'll stay on track_

_No I won't accept defeat_

_It's an uphill slope_

_But I won't lose hope_

_Till I go the distance_

_And my journey is complete_

Age couldn't resist the urge, he had to join his daughter in this ballad. He felt the beat and the soul, and even the meaning and joined in like the real pathfinder he is.

_But to look beyond the glory is the hardest part_

_For a hero's strength is measured by his heart_

The entrance of her Pa startled Syrena, but she quickly warmed up to his singing and proceeded to listen, and take over again when the time was right.

_Like a shooting star_

_I will go the distance_

_I will search the world_

_I will face its harms_

_I don't care how far_

_I can go the distance_

_Till I find my hero's welcome_

_Waiting in your arms..._

Age thought what he had sung was the end, but Syrena was more of a performer than he could've foreseen.

_I will search the world_

_I will face its harms_

_Till I find my hero's welcome_

_Waiting in your arms_

Syrena had definitely finished the song and Age was so proud.

As Age listened to his daughter sing the last few words, she spread her flippers apart and as soon as she was done she ran over to her Pa's leg and hugged it tightly. It all made sense to Age now, he'd never sang with his girl before, but now he understood why. Syrena had been so different, that she was worried that she'd never be a hero to her Pa, so that's why she sang about finding a hero's welcome waiting in his arms. While Age was so nervous about being a good father that he was worried he'd never be Syrena's hero. But all the worries had subsided, for they were safe, and they were ready for whatever may happen in the morning.

**I don't know about you guys but I am insanely thrilled about bringing all these characters back for a 3****rd**** installment. I can't thank you all enough for the inspiration, keep R&R the first 3 "What are Friends For?", "The Song Epic", and "I Was Here" and be sure to be on the lookout for more chapters in the future. I promise I'll finish this story before I start others! Happy Feet Forever! **


	3. Icy Grip on the Heart

**Okay, I know someone is going to hate me for this, but it seemed like a good idea. So I got thinking, now that Age and his daughter have finally found a bond to one another, which was similar to the issue Mumble had to Erik in the film, what if he was put under the same stress, and, is forced to test just how strong that bond is. Even though Mama won't be around to help…**

Family Bonds of a Different Kind

Chapter 2

Icy Grip on the Heart

Hayley had been grooming the mountain all night, but easily found the others after they sang. She had found them near the base where a huge ice formation loomed overhead, creating an archway for Syrena's hideout. Hayley could easily see why this was her daughter's chosen hideaway; not only was it far away, but it was fascinating to look at too! The orange glow of the sun was just beginning to appear as the entire family reunited under the still dark clouds. Syrena was feeling so much better, and it was shown by her sudden passion towards her mama.

"Mama, Mama!" Syrena yelled as she ran to Hayley and jumped with excitement.

"I'm so happy to see you Syrena! Thank the Great Guin you're alright." She said to her. After she gave Syrena a smile, she turned towards Age, and then looked back at Syrena, "Um, sweetie, why don't we start heading back home? You can stay in front of us for a little, your daddy has some things we need to discuss."

"Okay Mama…" Syrena said and then scurried off. Age and Hayley followed behind by about two feet in case of a skua, but were just out of hearing distance of Syrena.

"So…what happens now Age? With Richie gone…what'll become of our family?" Age didn't know how to respond to his wife's question. He had always thought they would live long happy lives with Richie and everyone would be happy. But now that Uncle Richie was gone, he had no clue as to what the future had in store.

"I don't Hayley, but we have to keep this a secret from the other kids." Age had a valid point, but he had forgotten something very vital to the situation.

"But sweetie, Syrena already knows. She's young and talkative, not to mention curious beyond our expectations. If she knows, I'm sure she'll be blabbing about it to someone. If we don't keep an eye on her, she'll probably tell the whole nation by tomorrow." Hayley told Age. But he was well aware of Syrena's curiosity. In fact, if it wasn't for her curiosity to begin with, she never would've found out in the first place. It was going to be hard no doubt, but Age knew that if this was going to work, he'd have to put faith and trust into his little girl.

"Hayley, I know fully well about how curious of a penguin she is, and it's one of her greatest feats. But sometimes…stopping one's strengths isn't the right path. Perhaps we shouldn't do anything after all. Maybe we should just trust that she won't tell anyone if we ask her to. You would know that trust isn't something given, you have to earn it. The same thing goes with respect, so I say, we simply ask her not to say anything, and if she does, well, it'll be was it is." Age said to his mate. Hayley at first wasn't in agreement with her mate, but she realized after taking the thought in that she was going to have to learn to trust her daughter. And this to Hayley was as good a time as any to see if she could.

"Alright Age, if you think that's best, then you have my backing on it. I'll support you're decision. I know that this probably isn't what I would do, but I assure you, you've never been wrong before, so why should I stop believing you now?" Age was grateful that his love had such faith in his choice. It warmed Age up to know that when all was said and done, he and Hayley would always support each other. To Age, this was a sign that he may one day become a true pathfinder.

A pathfinder to Emperor Land was a new rank in the social status ranking that was awarded, or more or less granted, to highly exalted penguins in the social community. These were penguins of great wisdom and were the ones that other penguins turned to for advice and knowledge. Age was introduced to the pathfinder's system after Mumble and Noah had suggested that he and the other founders of the new Emperor Land had arrived. Mumble felt he wasn't old enough to be declared an Elder, so instead they came up with a new title that condemned his action of heroism towards Emperor Land and its citizens. Mumble was the first penguin granted the title of pathfinder, and Age was very young at the time. So at that moment, as Age watched his 'pa' get granted the title, Age had made it his mission to one day be given the same. However over the years, the actions necessary to be given the title grew more and more. Overall, the title had been given to Mumble, and then over Age's life at Emperor Land, only five more penguins got the honor. One of which was to Richie for his actions following Age's attack. After Uncle Richie was entitled, the others grew more and more difficult. But in the end, Age didn't care, his dreams of becoming a pathfinder were still alive and strong, and the best part was, he didn't even know that he had the makings of one without any practice. He was naturally good at making the right decisions, whether or not they were the easy ones.

As Age recalled his dreams of being a pathfinder in the future, he took notice how everyone was walking together like a real family. He was walking next to Hayley and their little girl was scurrying ahead of them. Though they weren't talking to one another, everything seemed as peaceful as it was going to get, despite the events of the previous day. Age had a sense of ease and tranquility as he watched his daughter move ahead, and Hayley grabbed his flipper and held it like a High School couple. This was more than enough for Age at the moment, if only they knew what would happen next…

(After they get home)

As the family reentered their home, Gloria was awake and tending to Kourtney and Gabriel's sleeping little bodies, keeping them warm and cozy. Syrena came in and lied over near her friends, while Hayley stopped Gloria from yelling.

"Are you serious? She followed you guys?" Gloria asked.

"Yep, it's all true. Unbeknownst to us, she high tailed herself up the mountain and listen to our whole conversation. After that, Age found her and sang with her. And let me tell you mama, she is amazing." Hayley told the whole story to Gloria, and she even called her mama.

"You wouldn't believe it mama, you'd have to be there, and she's got one of the most pure voices I've ever heard. All honesty, I think she better than me! It's a shame she don't wanna focus on singing, she'd get all the boys…hahaha!" Everyone laughed quietly on Age's last remark. Syrena overheard this and wondered if maybe she should practice singing a bit more, but she decided to think about it more later, for now she was tried from her long midnight trek.

In the morning, everyone was gathered into the main square by the Council of Elders, and the four Pathfinders stepped up. Many penguins were wondering what this was about, but Mumble rested everyone's fear with him being the chosen one to speak.

"Alright everyone listen up! There's been a usual amount of heat this summer, the ice beneath our feet I growing weak, so we've decided to move everyone to rock ground until winter, for safety purposes. So please everyone, we head out first thing tomorrow, get good rest tonight, for Lovelace had given us permission to stay in Adelie Land for a few weeks." Mumble gave his announcement to the nation and then they dispersed out to do their daily business. But, our little group all got together in the center.

"Pa? The ground beneath us has always been nice and strong, why would it give way now?" Erik asked Mumble.

"We're not sure Erik, but it's not safe here. We need to head out, besides that means we get to finally get to see one of Sven's shows."

"Is Sven that bird thingy that's friends with Uncle Age?" Kourtney said from Nicki's feet.

"Yes, Kourtney, that's Sven." Atticus answered. The he looked at Erik, "Hey Erik, out of curiosity do you still talk to Sven too? 'Cause to me it'd be kinda weird for my bro ta being hangin' 'round with a puffin, and not you, you know?"

"Atticus don't be rude, I'm sure he still talks with Sven every once and a while." Nicki said at Atticus' question.

"Of course he does! My Pa does talk with that birdy! I've seen him doing it last week!" Gabriel said from Erik's feet. Erik just smiled at Gab.

"Well, Gab isn't lying, I saw Erik talking to Sven last week too. In fact I believe the three of us were planning to visit this week in order to watch his show anyway. So this temporary move really isn't an inconvenience for us." Bo remarked on the conversation.

"Well I don't care where we go, as long as I have my boys, I'll be at home anywhere." Gloria said.

"I love you too Gloria." Mumble said to her, and then turned to Ramon who had been listening this whole time. " Hey Ramon, weren't you planning on going home soon anyway?"

"Si, Carmon and I miss the gathering of love stones. That…and I haven't seen mis Amigos in a while." Ramon then hung his head low at the thought of not seeing the Amigos in so long, but Carmon was right there to be the shoulder to cry on.

"Oh cheer up Ramon, as so as we get back, both of us can hang out with all our amigos and then…we can have a nice, romantic night together." This made Ramon perk up.

"Oh, Carmon…" He said as they nuzzled beaks. Syrena turned her head sideways as she watch them and then look up at her mama from her feet.

"Mama…it that love?" Hayley saw what she was looking at.

"Yes sweetie, that's love alright." Hayley said to Syrena. Age watched the small talk and then looked at Syrena, then to Gabriel. He knew that Syrena had a crush on Gab, but most penguins at her age had no idea what to call it. So he just simply let them live in their fantasies. As Age was thinking about this a voice not yet heard was brought into the mix.

"Uncle Age…?" It was Jake. "What are we gonna do if we can't come back to Emperor Land?" Age didn't know the answer, so he gave Mumble a look like 'Well, help me out here!', and Mumble helped.

"It's alright son, we'll be coming back, no worries." Mumble said to Jake.

"Yeah you have nothing to worry about, with your daddy watching over you, and this little group of ours staying together, nothing will stop us." Gloria said, reassuring her son. Age threw back his head and laugh, and everyone looked at him for it.

"Little? Mama, this isn't a little group! There's you, Pa, Jake, Erik, Bo, Gab, Atticus, Nicki, Kourtney, Syrena, myself, and Hayley…that's like, twelve different penguins mama!" Age said enlighting everyone. They all stepped back and realized that he was right, there were exactly twelve penguins in their little social group. Ramon and Carmon didn't count because they didn't live in Emperor Land. And Memphis and Norma Jean didn't count because they never really spent time outside their home because of their age. Mumble chuckled slightly at Age's point and then turned his gazed back to Ramon.

"Don't worry Ramon, you'll see you're amigos soon enough. Just don't fall behind; we're leaving in the morning." Mumble said to his best friend.

"I think he knows that Pa, you said it to everyone five minutes ago." Erik said. After Erik made his comment and looked over to Jake who was quivering on his Pa's feet. "Yo, Jake..." Erik said, then Jake turned to his brother, "What are you so scared of little bro? Nothing is gonna happen to us." Jake didn't seem to believe what Erik was trying to tell him.

"I...I...I don't think so Erik, the ice is unstable. I can feel it through Pa's feet." Mumble listened to the whole conversation, and after Jake made his remark, he leaned over to Gloria and said,

"Looks like we've got another special chick, two for two." Mumble whispered to his mate. Gloria smiled knowing he was right, Erik had a beautiful voice and was a great father. Jake was hypersensitive to the area around him. Though he was a bit more paranoid than any other penguin in the group, he had a gift for sensing the landscape around him. Mumble and Gloria couldn't wait to see if he could sing or dance, if he wasn't scared to of course.

"Mumble don't be so forgetful, we're three for three." She said with a smile looking at Age and Syrena. Mumble felt completely guilty for forgetting Age, he was one of the most powerful singers Emperor Land has ever seen, and Mumble was honored to have raised him.

"You're right Gloria; we do have three special chicks." Mumble said as the two leaned against one another, feeling satisfied with their children.

As the group began to disperse, Age was beginning to think of what this venture might bring to him and his little group. Everyone had their reasons for going, but everyone also had their reasons for staying. But Age had to understand that going was the best thing, if the ice was as unstable as Jake said, Emperor Land was no longer safe.

(The next day as our group begins to awaken)

Everyone was just beginning to stir into the world, but a certain two penguins were already awake, rearing and ready to go. These penguins were Mumble and Age. Age had woke up about an hour earlier due to insomnia **(It's an illness that's doesn't let you sleep)**, and had just lain where he was, watching over his mate and chick. Mumble on the other flipper purposely woke up early; he wanted to start as soon as he could, that way he wouldn't waste any time getting to Adelie Land. Gloria had talked this over with him the night before, but she made it clear that Jake wouldn't be so reluctant to wake up at the crack of dawn. So instead, Gloria decided to let Jake walk with another friend if he wanted to, and Mumble and Gloria would walk on their own, just the two of them. Mumble smiled at the thought of himself and his mate spending some time together, especially if they were alone. Though he was worried for Jake, he was still on a major edge.

Soon enough though, Age couldn't continue to lie where he was and got up and walked out. He decided to do some thinking whilst he waited for his family to rise. But before he could begin to think of anything, his eyes were suddenly locked firmly on the very narrow line of orange and red caused by the rising sun. All around it were shades of dark blue and black, this made Age think of something completely different. The whole scene was to him, a metaphor for himself and his family; one small area of hope, surrounded by darkness and uncertainty.

"It's beautiful..." Age knew the voice. "And I know what you're thinking, it is just like us. One small patch of light in the dark." Hayley was almost ready to cry from the sight of the sun. But nonetheless she continued. "I know how unsure of this trip you are Age, but you have to trust in The Elders decision."

"I never have; not so long as I've lived in Emperor Land, what The Elders have to say is meaningless to me. I trust in only two penguins, the Pathfinders...and you." Hayley seemed surprised at Age's statement. He hadn't any faith in Erik or Bo, not even Gloria. Come to think of it, she just realized he had excluded all other friends from their group aside from herself and Mumble.

"Age, I understand your concern; but believe me when I tell you that, well, you're not always right, yes, usually you are, but sometimes it's better to listen to others. I have confidence in Jake's ability, and if he says the ground is unstable, then I'm moving. And you should too."

Age had been so trusting to everyone around him as a chick to all the penguins who helped him grow up, but since Uncle Richie got killed, he felt like he had no one left to trust in. Although he had a loving mate, a gifted chick, and an everlasting group of friends, he still felt no trusting relationships outside of anyone except for his Pa and mate.

"I appreciate every word you say Hayley, and I love you for it...but things changed to rapidly for me, and I couldn't take it. I'm surprised how well you've taken it actually. I mean, he was really your uncle." Age questioned.

"Yes he was, but I was told what he told you before he died; now there's a part of him in you. And for that, I'll never be that far away from him. Just think Age, you're my mate, I can't spend enough time with you and our chick, and now that Richie gave his image to you, you have the presence of him about you, so now, when I'm around you, I'm around him too." Age smiled brightly at Hayley explanation of her lack of grieving, and they pulled into a hug.

"Thank you Hayley, it's all okay now. Let's let Syrena sleep, she'll need to get the rest for the trip." Hayley looked confusingly innocent.

"So then what do we do?" Age just smiled at her question.

"I have an idea." Age said as they began kissing.

A few hours later, everyone was up, except for Age and Hayley. After their personal moment, Age had fallen asleep with his flipper draped over her back with her cuddled up into his chest. The only one to actually see this was Erik, who had woken them up before anyone else saw.

"Thanks Erik, I would've hated to have been embarrassed like that." Age said to his friend.

"Hey, don't think I'm letting you off the hook bro, you own me for this." Erik said playfully. Age just laughed.

"Alright fine, what do you want?" Age asked.

"Name the chick after me...hahaha!" Erik laughed, but Hayley came across his face with her flipper.

"You sick penguin! We have a chick already, why would we...uh!" She said throwing her flippers in the air and waddling into her home. Age just gave Erik a look like, 'What the hell man?'.

"Sorry dude, I had no idea she'd take it, well, that way." Erik fessed up.

"Just don't do that again Erik, she really is sensitive about having chicks." Age said.

Before the group set out for departure, they met in the center so they could all travel together. Kourtney and Atticus were still sleepy from waking up so early, so Nicki leaned over to Bo and asked if she wanted to 'help' wake them up. Bo accepted and was told what she needed to do, she then leaned over to Mumble, told him the plan, and then he started dancing. **(Turn Me On-Nicki Minaj, David Guetta)**

Nicki started things off with a simple pick up line. And then it excelled into something Atticus and Kourtney both loved hearing. Nicki was singing to them.

_Docta docta, need you back hold me babe_

_Docta Docta, where you at?_

_Give me somethin'_

_I need your love_

_I need your love_

_I need your lovin'_

_You got that kind of medicine that keep me comin'_

_My body needs a hero_

_Come and save me_

_Something tells me you know how to save me_

_I've been feeling real low_

_Oh, I need you to come and rescue me_

Nicki suddenly got an idea when she saw her song was having an effect on her chick and husband. Although this idea would probably more so appeal to Atticus.

_Oooooooooh!_

_Make me come alive_

_Come on and turn me on_

_Touch me, save my life_

_Come on and turn me on_

_I'm too young to die_

_Come on and turn me on_

_Turn me on_

_Turn me on_

_Turn me on_

_Turn me on_

_Make me come alive_

_Come on and turn me on_

_Touch me, save my life_

_Come on and turn me on_

_I'm too young to die_

_Come on and turn me on_

_Turn me on_

_Turn me on_

_Turn me on_

_Turn me on_

_Turn me on_

Nicki was right about her theory, her singing these lyrics woke Atticus right up. But Kourtney was still somewhat asleep. So she quickly though of another idea…

_Oh you make it make it right_

_My temperature is super high_

_If I scream, if I cry_

_It's only 'cause I feel alive_

_My body needs a hero_

_Come and save me_

_Something tells me you know how to save me_

_I've been feeling real low_

_Oh, I need you to come and rescue me_

This time however, Nicki's theory was wrong. Kourtney didn't wake up that much. The she leaned over to Bo, and gave her permission to do the next chorus. Bo stepped in with delight and enjoyed herself.

_Oooooooooh!_

_Make me come alive_

_Come on and turn me on_

_Touch me, save my life_

_Come on and turn me on_

_I'm too young to die_

_Come on and turn me on_

_Turn me on_

_Turn me on_

_Turn me on_

_Turn me on_

_Make me come alive_

_Come on and turn me on_

_Touch me, save my life_

_Come on and turn me on_

_I'm too young to die_

_Come on and turn me on_

_Turn me on_

_Turn me on_

_Turn me on_

_Turn me on_

The friends were having an excitable time; Nicki gave Bo a wink for her vocals on the chorus, signaling she did a good job. But after she did that, Kourtney tapped on her Mama's flipper, and then sang.

_You've got my life in the palm of your hands_

_Come and save me now_

_I know you can, I know you can_

Nicki was very happy her daughter sang with her, then she looked at Atticus and rapped for him.

_D-D-D-D-Don't let me die young, I just want you to fatha' my young_

_I just want you to be my docta, we can get it crackin' chiropractor_

_I, I, I, I know you can save me_

_And make me feel alive_

Nicki's eyes lit up with joy, but it only got better as Kourtney and Atticus joined Nicki for the finally chorus. Meanwhile, Bo backed down and went back with Erik and Gab so the penguins could finish the song as a family.

_Make me come alive_

_Come on and turn me on_

_Touch me, save my life_

_Come on and turn me on_

_I'm too young to die_

_Come on and turn me on_

_Turn me on_

_Turn me on_

_Turn me on_

_Turn me on_

Kourtney sang the last lyric and both parents absolutely praised her for it. It was clear that maybe she had a talent for street music too. Just like her Mama, and Pa.

Atticus and Kourtney gave Nicki their thanks for singing her song to them, both of them were now wide awake and ready to roll. The funky song had also perked up Bo and her family. Erik gave Bo a nod of approval, signaling that she did a good job.

"That was awesome Bo, seems you and Nicki have still got the time and talent to make the kids get up and dance." Erik said to Bo. Typically, that would probably sound like an insult, but Bo knew what Erik meant. He meant that she and Nicki both had such superb skills in preforming that even this early in the morning when both were tired, they found the strength to sing for their kids and make it just as good as if they had been wide awake.

"Thanks Erik, you sure know talent when you see it." Bo joked to him. The two laughed and shared a hug.

Back at Age's home, he and Hayley were having the talk with Syrena about traveling with someone else if she wanted. "Look, it's not that we want you to not walk with us, it's just...it's a long walk sweetie. And your Pa and I feel it would be a good time for you to walk with some friends, you know, get to know them better." Hayley tried to explain her rationales to Syrena, but she seemed determined to walk with her parents.

"But I wanna walk with you two! Can I please? Oh please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please!" Syrena complained. As Age was about to respond, Jake came running in with Mumble and Gloria.

"Hey Syrena, Mama says I can walk with a friend if I want, I already got Gab and Kourtney to come along, wanna come too?" Jake asked her. Syrena smiled and was about to respond when Age saw an opportunity to use this to his advantage.

"I'm sorry Jake, but you and the other will have to walk without Syrena. You see, she really wants to walk with us instead." Age said to Jake, but Syrena stepped in, completely falling for the con.

"What are crazy Pa? If Gab is going, then I'm in!" She said, Jake then lit up and the two scurried out the doorway. Mumble gave Age a look, and then said to him.

"I don't know where you got those skills, but those con artist techniques are gonna get you into real trouble someday." Mumble smirked a smile at his 'son'. Age just smiled with an eyebrow raised.

"I know, but for now, if it meant I get to spend alone time with Hayley, then I'll do it." Age said turning to Hayley and holding her flipper. Mumble just shook his head turned away with Gloria at his side, but before they were completely gone, Gloria turned around and said,

"Just a quick FYI for you guys, I really don't have a good feeling about this ice either."

The whole nation had then started moving a few minutes later, hundreds of penguins and their chicks walked across the ice in small groups to avoid toppling of the ice. Our group split into two, the adults and the chicks. Age and Hayley walked with Erik and Bo, Mumble and Gloria walked ahead with the Elders and other Pathfinders, for he knew the way to Adelie Land better than anyone. Carmon and Ramon stay within viewing distance of the kids, a request of Age and Erik. Memphis and Norma Jean were towards the back of the group overall; for their older age was not playing in their favor, so they couldn't move as fast as everyone else. Sven was sent way forward to see if there were any safe passages through the mountains on the way to Adelie Land. After a short while he came back to Age with news reports of faster ways to go.

"If you turn up ahead you will be crossing some ice, but you'll get there about a day or two earlier."

"Are you kidding Sven? There's no way any of us are going over ice! It's far too dangerous!" Age was horribly oppressed by his friend if he thought he'd even consider going over the ice. Unfortunately for Age, since he yelled this at him, a certain foursome had heard this, well the dangerous part anyway.

"Did you guys hear that? If it's fast and dangerous, I'm in." Gab said hurrying off in the direction Sven came from, with only a quick pause to see if anyone would follow. "Well? Is anyone coming with me? It could be fun, and we'd have bragging right to those who don't come with us." Gab tried to convince his friends to join him. Syrena stepped up.

"Well, I never turn down fun...that and it'd be interesting to see how much weight it takes to make the ice break." Syrena was surprised at how much she wanted to go. And believe it or not so was Gab.

"Anyone else…?" Gab asked to Kourtney and Jake. Jake wasn't a daredevil or a trouble maker, but he was the one that predicted the unstableness of the ice to begin with, so naturally, Jake declined.

"Um…no thank you Gab, you and Syrena can go, I'll stay back with Kourtney." Jake said with a quick glance at his cohort in not venturing into dangerous ice. Kourtney shot him a look of agreement, and then told Gab just how dumb she thought he was acting.

"Gab, Syri, are you two nuts? You heard what your Pa said Syri, why would you directly disobey him?" Kourtney asked her bestie. Syrena had a look of disappointment on her face, but then found that the only real reason she wanted to go was because of Gab.

"Well, Gab is going, so why wouldn't I?" Syrena said, then she turned away and Gab followed after her. As the two slowly vanished from sight, Kourtney and Jake had the exact same thought.

"Uh Jake, we should probably tell someone about this." Kourtney said to Jake. Jake nodded his head in agreement when suddenly he felt a tremor raddle through his feet. His eyes widened and he knew what was gonna happen. He dashed off back to Uncle Ramon and Auntie Carmon to break the news.

"Uncle Ramon!" Jake yelled at him, Ramon tried to settle him down, but his convulsing flippers made it hard to catch his attention.

"Calm down muchacho, now, tell Tio Ramon que pasa?" Ramon didn't speak Adelie much to anyone besides The Amigos and Mumble, but he had just been in a conversation with Carmon, so he couldn't just make the transition.

"What?" Jake said with a dumbfounded look on his face.

"Never mind Fluffito The Second, what's wrong?" **(For those who missed that, Mumble=Fluffy, Erik=Fluffito, which would make Jake=Fluffito The Second, just a little humor) **

"Well uh…uh…uh…" Jake tried to say, but Kourtney saved the day.

"Gab and Syri went the dangerous way to Adelie Land, the way down that crevasse. If they walk that way they may cause the ice to crumble, and they may get hurt…or worse." Kourtney explained everything, and Ramon went into instant shock, rushing past Kourtney up to Mumble and Gloria in the front.

"Fluffy, your boy's boy and his chica went the no-no way to my Land. Down that way there." Ramon said pointing down the narrow cut off from the main path.

"Oh no…" Was all he could say, after that he was yelling. "AGE, HAYLEY!" He screamed to them, they instantly broke their conversation and turned to Mumble, their full attention. "GAB AND SYRENA WENT DOWN THE DANGEROUS WAY TO ADELIE LAND!" Age's eyes shot as wide as they could go, and dashed after them leaving the rest of the nation in his ice dust. Our group however wasn't so reluctant to let him go by himself.

Shortly after Age ran after his and his brother's chick, Hayley ran after him as well. Atticus and Nicki went to comfort their daughter before going to help as well. Erik and Bo also panicked as they found out their son had gone down the narrow route, and without though scurried to help. Mumble and Gloria told Ramon and Carmon stay behind, to watch after the kids and then also ran to assist, while Mumble gave directions to Adelie Land to Noah, and then proceeded to go. As our little group mustered into the narrow ice their only thoughts were of finding Gab and Syrena, before anything bad could happen.

(As Gab and Syrena waddled onto a chunk of ice over-looking the sea)

The two chicks came to a spot where the ice hanging over head looked like some sort of shelter, while it was cut off enough to over-see the vast ocean. They walked a little to the center before stopping, and then Gab made a remark about their surroundings.

"Wow…" he said sniffing the air, "It already smells like Adelie Land. Not to mention that this ice doesn't feel unstable at all." Syrena thought about what Gab said, but she knew better than to try and beat the laws of nature that she had come to understand so well.

"Listen Gab, not that I don't trust you or anything…" She said as Age and Hayley came running up to them out of nowhere.

"Syrena, oh thank goodness you're not hurt! What are doing going this way?" Hayley said to Syrena.

"I'm sorry Mama, I was actually trying to tell Gab that…" Syrena was cut off by Age.

"Gab, thank you for reminding me; where did you think you were going mister? I told Sven specifically not to let anyone go this way! Why did you lead Syrena down here?" He said half yelling, not enough to make his nephew cry.

"Well…I…" Gab said as Erik and Bo came onto the ice shelf.

"Gab! Don't move Pa's coming!" Erik said gesturing for Bo to stay off the ice. Erik crept towards Age and Gab, and once he got there, well, he wasn't happy.

"Hey Erik, did you know that Gab led Syrena down here?" Age told Erik; clearly Syrena had the best intentions when she said her next comment.

"He also tried to convince Jake and Kourtney to come too, but he…"

"You tried to get the others to go with you? Why would you do that Gab?" Erik wasn't yelling, but he was speaking louder than he should have. As Erik and Age awaited Gab's response, Mumble and Gloria came onto the ice, blowing right past Bo.

"Is everyone alright?" Mumble said out loud to everyone. Age felt another tremor go through his own feet as Jake had before, and then he finally did yell.

"NOBODY MOVE!" He screamed, and everyone stopped where they were. For the brief moment of no motion, a small crack appeared in the ice that, if any worst, would split the shelf in two. "Alright, Gab, Syri, you two move first." Age commanded, but as the two slowly and carefully made their way across the cracked ice, two more penguins showed up, unaware of the danger.

"Is everyone okay?" Atticus and Nicki had showed up, and Age was on edge.

"Atticus, Nicki…don't…move…a muscle." Age said this extremely slowly as the crack widened, only by a little. The constant additions of weight made the crack slowly increase in size and depth as the penguins increased their presents on the shelf. Unfortunately, they were all there yet.

"Pa, am I in trouble?" Gab said as he finally made it across the crack to safety with Bo.

"Gab, we're all in trouble by this point." He said. Syrena was moving much slower than Gab was, and Age knew that if this thing wasn't gonna break she have to hurry up. But it was too late…

"Hijos no!" The group heard Ramon yell to Jake and Kourtney. **(Hijo=Child, Hijos=Children)**

"No…" Age said to himself quietly as Jake, Kourtney, Ramon, and Carmon came rushing onto the ice. "NO!" Age yelled, Ramon looked up in confusing, but the saw why. The crack had split completely, causing a huge chunk of ice to fall, trapping Age, Hayley and Erik on one side, everyone else on the other. "Hayley, there! Get across now!" Age yelled pointing towards an unstable pile of ice shards she could use to get across if she was fast enough.

She got down on her belly and just barely slide across the ice as it then also caved down and fell into the pit created by the chunk that fell out. Now only Erik and Age were on the other side, and the whole area surrounding the group was quickly collapsing like it was being sucked into a whirlpool from below them. Age noticed how the pit created in-between them was only hanging on by a small piece of ice. He thought he could use this, and since time was running out he had no choice. Hayley must've seen his plan and instantly refused he try it. "Age no, don't bother, it won't work, it won't!" she said as the ice beneath her began to give way. Age closed his eyes and grabbed Erik flipper and threw both of them down onto the ice below as the platform they were standing on crumbled away leaving them on another foothold that was falling apart.

"Gloria, take the kids back, NOW!" Mumble yelled. Gloria and Nicki mustered up the kids and began to try and leave the area while the rest of the group attempted to figure out a way to get Age and Erik free of the ice trap. The shelf was now being to fall itself from above all their heads, and Erik knew that their time to formulate a plan was over. He hurried over to the edge and reached up for Bo's flipper and grasped it hard. "I love you Bo, I'll be alright, just get out of here."

"No, no I won't, I'm not leaving you behind." Bo protested, but the overhanging doom finally broke off and was now falling right towards everyone. Erik released Bo's flipper and yelled to Age,

"Over the side, now!" He said leaping over the edge of the ice. Age stole a last look at Hayley, she had the look of a petrified child on her face, Age just nodded and then looked over the edge himself before jumping. It was no small drop, hundreds of feet, but he had no choice, he closed his eyes and leapt for everything.

"AGE!" Hayley screamed as the ice shelf collided with the pit where Age was standing just a half second before.

"Hayley let's go!" Mumble said as he pushed her up the passage where they came from. But the impact shattered the foundation of the ice for yards around. Atticus and Nicki were thrown in opposite directions, and the crevasse where Nicki and Gloria were with the kids gave way beneath their feet. The whole family was split into numerous groups by the way the ice cracked and then shattered. Age and Erik made impact into the water and then swam for their lives to get away from the sinking ice that could've dragged them down to their deaths. Gloria and Hayley had been thrown in the water as well, but the falling ice blocked their paths and were forced to swim in the opposite direction. Mumble was still up on the ice with Ramon, Atticus and Carmon, they had managed to get onto sturdy ice in time, but the ice fall blocked the way they came, they were trapped. Nicki had made it past the wreckage with Gab, Kourtney, and Jake, but the ice enclosed around them causing an avalanche, forcing them to belly sled down a steppe nearby hill. The avalanche then trailed close behind them and managed to completely prevent them from turning around. Nicki noticed a small cave to the side of them on a cliff side, she then pushed all the kids into it as the avalanche roared by them, covering up the entrance and just barely not reaching them. There was a cliff nearby, but the fall was still too high for the young chicks, they were trapped inside a cave with a snow clogged entrance and a death wish fall. The four of them weren't going anywhere. As for Syrena, she was tumbling out of control on a series of ice tunnels far beneath the surface of the ice that had been opened up when the path holding Nicki and the kids gave way. She had suddenly felt herself stop tumbling, and looked around. She guessed she was far below the surface of the ice, and had a small pool of water shown through her escape. She dived in and swam to the surface as best she could. When she came out, she saw no familiar sights, and no familiar faces, she was alone.

As Age and Erik managed to surface onto the shoreline, they watched the whole side of icy cliff fall into itself and into the ocean. Age didn't cry, he couldn't, it was too much. But Erik broke down and started sobbing his eyes out. Age didn't know if anyone survived besides him and his brother. Hayley might be dead, Syrena might dead too, everyone. Age just let his head fall, and after that he lost consciousness.

Erik was looming over Age as he awoke. And it had clearly been a few hours since the disaster. "Hey Age, take it easy. I don't know what happened to you, but you've been out for a while." Erik said as he helped Age up. Age just shook his head as to make the pain go away and then gave Erik a serious look.

"Erik…tell me what happened was just a nightmare." He said with high hopes.

"I wish I could bro, look…" he said pointing to the remains of the cliff side. The cliff of ice was gone, it didn't even look like what it had, not even close; Age just screamed horribly to the sky and threw his head down in despair.

He felt like he lost everything, but out of all this loss, remain a spark of hope within him, and with hope, comes a reason to fight, a reason to go on. **(Something Only Love Can Do-Jacky Cheung)**

_When you're lost, and the light is fading_

_The wind blows cold and_

_You can't find your way back home_

_Remember that the darkest hour is_

_Just before the dawn_

_Sometimes a leap of faith is all it takes_

_Cause only love can see the path to set you free_

_Just close your eyes look inside_

_And let your heart believe_

_There's been a force so strong_

_Beside you all along_

_You'll know it when your dream comes true_

_That's something only love can do_

A father should never feel like he's lost everything, but sometimes a leap of faith _is_ all it takes. And that is what Age was doing right now; he was giving himself hope the only way he knew how.

_In your quest for a new horizon_

_Set your course find a star to light your way_

_Although the task may seem_

_Sometimes to be more than you can bear_

_One thing you need to know you're not alone_

_Cause only love can see the path to set you free_

_Just close your eyes look inside_

_And let your heart believe_

_There's been a force so strong_

_Beside you all along_

_You'll know it when your dream comes true_

_That's something only love can do_

Erik was beginning to also feel hope from his brother's song, but he was still very uncertain if he'd believe anyone survived. But what he didn't know is that even false hope is worth believing in.

_If you believe in miracles_

_Then you can be the one_

_Just shine your light and show the world_

_There's nothing love can't overcome_

_Cause only love can see the path to set you free_

_Just close your eyes look inside_

_And let your heart believe_

_There's been a force so strong_

_Beside you all along_

_You'll know it when your dream comes true_

_That's something only love can do_

Age had nothing more to say.

_That's something only love can do_

Far away from the sight of Age and Erik, Syrena was wandering around terrified of the world around her. She was never so scared and she had no one to give her hope. As she continued to waddled, quivering with every step, she heard a foot step approach, and then a shadow appeared.

"Pa?"

**So sorry for the long update, my laptop was giving me real ahjida. Anyway, hope this was worth the wait. I updated everything, so be sure to R&R. I hope the next chapter will come out faster than this one. **


	4. Rising Hopes with Doubts

**So now that the gang is completely split up, I have tons of ways to go. I had actually not thought of what breaking them apart might do, instead of testing Age's bond to Syrena, I can test all their bonds. This will prove just how much of a family they really are; which means that Syrena shall develop a bond with someone else…and Age will most likely have a hard time accepting it. In short terms, Syrena, she's in good flippers, everyone else, not so much. And, just in case you didn't pick up on it, this whole thing will be post-catastrophe thoughts and actions. But don't worry, there'll always be a song.**

Family Bonds of a Different Kind

Chapter 3

Rising Hopes with Doubts

If you were there in the moments that followed the catastrophe that occurred that sad day, you could heard even the smallest whimper or foot step coming from the lone penguins treading through unknown territory. Age had mixed thoughts, most were assuming the worst, after all; he'd been through so many tragic events throughout his life, so he was taught to always assume the worst. In that way, if it came true, he would be so disappointed. He was assuming that everyone was probably badly injured, or at the worst, dead; but there were two penguins in particular he couldn't bring to even think about that. If anyone survived that disaster besides himself and Erik, it had to be his wife and chick. The thought of them being gone wasn't even thinkable to Age, so no matter what, he swore the thought would never enter his mind, not once, even if it was true, he wouldn't believe it.

Erik on the other flipper was all about gratification and solemn. He let in the possibility that perhaps they were all gone, but he relished the idea of assuming otherwise. Age wasn't the only penguin that had been through hard events in his, still young, life time. The Doomberg, moving to a new Emperor Land, feeling a loss for a connection without his father; true these occurrences were nothing compared to the horrors of Age's chick hood, but still it made Erik somewhat feel better knowing he could relate to Age's feeling in one way or another.

As the two slowly walked across the frozen sleet of ice covering the water and its dangers below, Erik couldn't hold in the silence anymore. "Age, I…"

"Just don't Erik, not right now." Age told to his brother. Erik sighed in anguish that his best friend/brother, didn't wanna talk about what had happened.

"Age, sometimes it's better to talk about it. Maybe it would make you feel better if you did." Erik tried to explain, he could tell that Age was pondering the thought but nothing really more.

"Alright…fine. Erik, how do you feel about what happened?" He asked.

"Well, truth be told, I'm not sure what happened. One minute we're all walking as a family, next, we're all fighting for our lives in a battle with the ice. I don't really see why it all had to happen in the first place." Erik said to Age. Age was confused by this, for they both knew why it happened.

"Erik, don't be stupid man. We both know it was your son's curiosity that got all of us into this mess." After he said this his head fell in depression. "My poor Syrena, all alone…or worse." Erik knew that it was Gab fault but he'd rather of not admitted it. It was nice hearing it from someone else.

"Yeah, you're right, it was all on Gab. I feel like such an irresponsible parent. I let his curiosity get the best of him and all of us. And now, well…need I say more." Erik made his confession, but Age wouldn't stand for it.

"Erik, please, don't beat yourself up. All little chicks are interested by the world around them; I mean, just look at Syrena. She's got the voice of, well, I don't know how to describe it, but…" Erik interrupted him.

"Wait! Syri sang? When?" Erik never heard Syrena sing, so this was exciting news for him. And believe me, in this dark hour he needed excitement.

"Well, it was two days ago, very early in the morning, so I guess in theory it was yesterday. She had heard the conversation I had with Hayley about Uncle Richie dying, and after she heard, she ran off to her hideout. Neither myself nor Hayley knew of this, so we both split up and went searching for her all over the place. As the sun peaked over the horizon line the following morning, I found her singing. I could tell she was very sad, but after a point, I sung with her for the first time, and I don't think I've ever made her so happy." Age smiled a small one to himself as he remembered.

_Till I find my hero's welcome_

_Waiting in_

_Your arms…_

"_That was beautiful Syrena. I'm so proud of you." Age smile down to his daughter and returned the hug._

"_Thanks Pa. I owe it all to you. I know that you think I'm a thinker, but I secretly do love singing. I've done it a bunch of times when you weren't looking. I…just wanted to surprise you on the day I found my…love?" Syrena asked him, very confused. Age let out a small chuckle._

"_Yes Syrena, love. But sweetheart, if you wanted to surprise me, all you had to do was ask. I would of gave to the privacy you needed to become a true singer." He explained to her._

"_Well, see…I figured if I told you, you'd get all worked up and excited. And I wanted it to be a true surprise, not an expected surprise." Age understood._

"_Ah, well that's okay Syri. Hey how about this, the minute we get home, I'll start giving you all the space you need. How does that sound?" Syrena's face lit up with joy, and hugged her Pa's leg once again._

_Age was satisfied with his little girl, how could he not be? She was everything he ever wanted, and more. She was a singer, a very powerful one at that. And she had the greatest mind Age had ever seen on a penguin. He knew in his heart that she'll be someone in the world, no doubt._

Age was tearing up as he remembered this moment with his chick. The thought of such a powerful young penguin, being thrown into something like this was like a plague hitting his mind.

"You know Erik?" Erik looked at him with ambition. "Let's just forget about punishments all together. If our family is alive, then we will run to the ends of the ice to find them, agreed?" Erik nodded, fierce with determination and confidence. "Right then, how about we go back up that cliff and face our fears? If anyone is still alive, then we'll find them there, you know provided they didn't fall into the water like we were forced to." Erik just kept nodding and approving of Age's plan.

"I totally agree, we can't live in fear and despair of what happened here today. If were are going to continue on with our lives, first I want to see the proof that Bo and Gab, and well, everyone else is gone first. No exceptions, right?" Erik said in a strong willed voice.

"Totally bro, I ain't even gonna look at another penguin until I know for a fact that Hayley is gone. And even if she is, I know she'll always love me." Age was right.

With their new found confidence the two brothers started their way across the remains of the ice that they landed on when they just narrowly escaped from the ice chunk overhead. You could tell there was a fighting spirit in both of their eyes, and in their souls. But then again, boys will be boys, and boys always find a way to make things seem okay. This was a concept foreign to Age, but he liked it and embraced it with open flippers. While they still walked across the frozen water, the two formulated their plan of 'attack'.

"Alright, once we get there, we'll search around for…well anything. And then if we do find someone, alive that is…we'll rejoice, regardless of who it is. And if we go and find no one, we'll search the surrounding areas until we find everyone. Then, we round up the survivors and just try and forget the incident, but never forget the love ones we lost." Erik had spoken his plan very clearly.

Age could feel it in his gut, for some reason he had a feeling he wasn't going to be disappointed by his search, and that something was going to turn up. He also felt in his heart that Hayley and Syrena were both still alive, but he had a father's sense, and he knew Syrena was terrified of something, or if his worse dreams, or nightmares were to come true; she wasn't scared of something, but even worse, someone.

(With Gloria and Hayley on the opposite shore)

On the other side of the collapsed cliff, several miles from where the brothers began their trek, Gloria was tending to and exhausted Hayley on a floating chunk of ice. Hayley had gone into shock after she landed in the water and passed out in the water, nearly drowning. But luckily for her, Gloria remained strong and pulled her to the surface and hauled her onto a piece of drifting debris. However, their luck was drawing short by the fact that they'd been poising across the water for a while, and the land looked like a narrow white line on the horizon. Gloria pondered how they'd get back after she awoke, but Hayley began to stir. Gloria noticed that she wasn't awake, but more so talking in her sleep.

"It's your choice…she's your daughter, not mine." Gloria took on a confused face at what she was saying. "Stay…stay away from her you creep, you're not welcome into this family! Stay back, go away!" She was starting to yell, so Gloria tried to shake her awake.

"Hayley, wake up!" Gloria said vigorously shaking Hayley. Hayley was shook awake and was breathing extremely heavily. "Hayley, what happened?" Gloria said asking about her dream.

"I…I…I saw…a penguin. He was talking to a chick, and I think it was Syri. He was asking if he could be her mate."

"He was what?"

"It's true, I told him to go away, and to stay away from the family."

"I know, I heard that part."

"What, you did?"

"Yes Hayley, you were shouting in your sleep."

Hayley was extremely confused, she had seen a penguin asking to be her daughter's mate, and apparently she was yelling this from her sleep. Thought she hadn't an idea as to why, she worried it might be a foreshadowing of future events. The panic was interrupted by her realization that they were drifting out at sea with the ice just barely in sight.

"Mama! Why are we out here? We're floating away! We have to get back to shore!" Hayley explained to her. Gloria stopped her big rush and settled her down enough so she could talk to her.

"Hayley, we just escaped the collapsing of a cliff with our lives. I'm really tired and still in shock. I promise the minute I'm feeling better, we'll swim back." Hayley wanted to go back right now, but understood that they did just survive a horrible disaster, and were lucky enough to have this moment of rest. Though she wasn't happy, she finally accepted that Gloria was right and sat on the ice. Gloria took notice of Hayley's distress, so she figured she try to cheer her up. **(A Mother's Prayer- Celine Dion) **

_I pray you'll be my eyes_

_And watch her where she goes_

_And help her to be wise_

_Help me to let go_

Hayley looked up from her sorrow, was her mama actually singing a song to her? Hayley was struck, she'd never done it before.

_Every mother's prayer_

_Every child knows_

_Lead her to a place_

_Guide her with your grace_

_To a place where she'll be safe_

__Hayley was certain this was to her. Gloria's voice was still as pure and powerful as it had ever been; she bowed her head showing she was done, and even gave Hayley a smile. But Gloria inspired Hayley to sing to Syrena, her frightened, scared, helpless daughter, where ever she was…

_I pray she finds your light_

_And holds it in her heart_

_As darkness falls each night_

_Remind her where you are_

Gloria was listening with her whole being; she was rocked to her core by her daughter's voice. She truly was singing a real mother's prayer.

_Every mother's prayer_

_Every child knows_

_Need to find a place_

_Guide her with your grace_

_Give her faith so she'll be safe_

_Lead her to a place_

_Guide her with your grace_

_To a place where she'll be safe  
><em> 

The look between mother and daughter in that moment is something that outsiders would call nothing less than a pure family bond. After all, how do penguins get along best? Of course, they do it through song.

"Hayley…" Hayley just smiled, and her Mama's awe.

"Do you want to sing together? If only just this once?" Gloria smiled and nodded. **(A Mother's Prayer- Jackie Evancho ft. Susan Boyle)**

Hayley started, she repeated Gloria's song from earlier, but put her own little twist on it to include them both.

_I pray you'll be our eyes_

_And watch us where we go_

_And help us to be wise_

_In times when we don't know_

__

_Let this be our prayer_

_When we lose our way_

_Lead us to a place_

_Guide us with your grace_

_To a place where we'll be safe_

Gloria hadn't sang yet, but after Hayley gave her the approval to sing herself, she stood up on the ice and sang straight to the sky, and Hayley repeated every line.__

_I pray we'll find your light_

_And holds it in our hearts_

_When stars go out each night_

_Remind us where you are_

__

_Let this be our prayer_

_When shadows fill our day_

_Lead us to a place_

_Guide us with your grace_

_Give us faith so we'll be safe  
><em> 

Both didn't have to look at one another, instead, they knew what to sing and sang in unison to each other's voices. Matching almost as perfectly as their mates did to their heartsongs. _  
><em> 

_A world where pain and sorrow will be ended_

_And every heart that's broken will be mended_

_And we'll remember we are all the children_

_Reaching out to touch you_

_Reaching to the stars_

Again, Gloria took over and Hayley repeated in a perfect pitch. Age would've been so proud of her, and Mumble to Gloria.

_We ask that life be Kind_

_And watch us from above_

_We hope each soul will find_

_Another soul to love_

_Let this be our prayer_

_Just like every child_

_Needs to find a place_

_Guide us with your grace_

_Give us faith so we'll be safe  
><em> 

_Needs to find a place_

_Guide us with your grace_

_Give us faith so we'll be safe_

They found a place to be safe after all, they noticed they were somehow drifting back to shore.

Hayley and Gloria looked at each other in pure awe and confusion. The tide was without a doubt pulling the other ice blocks out to the open sea, but theirs was by some miracle going to the land. Gloria stood up and watched the ice drawn nearer and once they were in distance, she turned to Hayley and extended her flipper. With that, the two furiously and excitedly jumped into the water and rapidly swam back to shore. The torrent was horrible, but they felt like they were going to be okay. While getting ever nearer to the shore, Gloria began to become exhausted, Hayley noticed and rushed to help, taking her mama under her flipper and hauling her back up to the surface. Once the pair finally made it to the ice line, drenched and cold, they both collapsed out of pure fatigue. Gloria found the time in-between gasps to look at Hayley, who was lying on her side, panting and gulping for air.

"Thanks Hayley, I thought I wouldn't make it."

"You're welcome Mama, I'd do anything for you. I love you." Hayley said back to Gloria. Gloria smiled and sat up and waddled over to Hayley.

"I love you too sweetie." She said then the two embraced in a nice warm hug. "I'm feeling better already."

"Me too."

"Let's move a little further in land so we can rest without a worry of being eaten for the night." Gloria said. Hayley nodded in agreement and they got up and walked off a little bit.

It took them a little while to find a nice spot with over-head coverage, but once they did it was a very cozy little ice den with floors that may have been somewhat slippery, but at least it was protected from the ice and snow outside. Gloria laid down with Hayley next to her, a real bond between mother and daughter had formed on this day. Hayley had never called Gloria Mama so many times in one day.

"Good night…Mama." Hayley whispered.

(With Mumble, Atticus, Ramon, Carmon, and Bo on the cliff top)

Meanwhile on top of the cliff **(Whew, that's a change!)**, Mumble was busy trying not to panic at the fact that they were closed in on all sides. To the north was a massive pile of ice and debris, and everywhere else was completely enclosed by natural ice blockades that were there long before the cliff barreled down on the group. As Mumble looked around and began attempting to formulate a plan of escape; everyone else wasn't so down to Antarctica about this though. Ramon pulled Carmon off to the side and said his cries of worry to her that way no one else could see and/or understand him. **(The whole conversation is in Spanish, translation shall follow.) **

"¿Dónde vamos a ir? Estamos atascados aquí!" Whispered Ramon to Carmon.

"Calmarse bebé, yo soy su amigo llegue con algo. Además, no es que no hemos estado en esta posición antes." Carmon said in reply. "Vamos a estar bien, lo puedo sentir. ¿Confianza me derecho?"

Ramon bowed his head in disappointment, "Si…higo." Carmon smiled and nodded when they all heard Mumble speak up. **(And now for the translation, "Where are we going to go? We're trapped in here!" "Calm down baby, I'm sure your friend will think of something. Besides, it's not like we haven't been in this position before. We're going to be fine, I can feel it. You do trust me right?" "Yes…I do."- Roughly that's what it translates to, I've only been taking Spanish for two years, I'm still kind of basic)**

The five friends gathered into the center of their prison to listen in to what Mumble had to say. Bo and Atticus were listening very carefully as opposed to Ramon and Carmon who had just been speaking in a language that was foreign to everyone's penguin ear, except Mumble of course. Bo had been paying close attention for the exact same reason Atticus was; they both wanted to get outta here as fast peguinly possible so they could roll up their feathers and hard core go searching for their chicks who were either alive, or at the absolute worst, buried underneath ice and snow. Atticus however was a little bit more keen on hearing out Mumble's plan of attack, that way maybe he could tinker around with it a little bit and try to make it better.

"Alright, here's what I'm thinking…" Mumble announced to his colleagues, "We faced a common dilemma like this when the Doomberg came around, so I say we just do the same thing we did to take down the berg as we do to get the ice off the walls here. Besides at worst, we'll be stuck in here even longer. I've taken a closer look at the walls and it turns out that even if we knock one over us, it'll just make the wall harder to break." Atticus listened to Mumble's plan and it sounded pretty solid to him, except for one thing.

"Uh, Uncle Mumble?" Atticus directed towards Mumble, "How can you be certain that dat wall ain't gonna fall on us if we knock it down?" Atticus questioned.

Mumble was at first puzzled by his question, because he thought that Atticus was right. There truly was no way of determining whether or not the ice was going to tumble down onto their heads, Mumble had been purely guessing to avoid tension amongst the group. So in everyone's best interest to try to keep the calmness that was hanging on edge, Mumble regrettably had to lie.

"Because Atticus, look at the shape and curve of the ice in these walls; if they crack, they'll shatter on the bottom and slowly crumple where as a normal wall would fall over top first none stop. Make sense to you?" Mumble said hoping Atticus would fall for the con. Atticus was definitely unsure of Mumble's explanation, you could see it on his face, but the lack of time forced Atticus to believe Mumble's words and he readied to help.

"Alright Uncle Mumble, I suppose that makes sense to one degree or another. I mean it's not like you're lying to us just we can co-operate right?" Atticus said to Mumble with believing eyes.

The feelings overwhelming Mumble's body was nothing less than the worst guilt he'd ever felt. For what Atticus had proposed was exactly what he did to them. And the suspense was killing him, but he knew it was only for everyone's greater sanity. Mumble turned around and tried to think of a quick catchy song everyone could sing and dance to, for the more vibrations and high frequency noises everyone put out the better. Atticus was particularly uneasy with trying to think of something after he found that Mumble was taking too long. Atticus tried to think back any complicated songs he had sang with Nicki or Kourtney that might be the ideal song that they needed in the current situation. Then, a particular song came to mind, it was a song he had sang to Nicki just before they had Kourtney. **(Without You-David Guetta, Usher)**

_I can't win, I can't reign_

_I will never win this game_

_Without you, without you_

_I am lost, I am vain,_

_I will never be the same_

_Without you, without you_

Mumble turned to Atticus, and Atticus was immediately gesturing to his family the steps that they were gonna dance to. Atticus took up the vocal score completely on his own.__

_I won't run, I won't fly_

_I will never make it by_

_Without you, without you_

_I can't rest, I can't fight_

_All I need is you and I_

_Without you_

_Without you_

The group, almost violently, broke out into rapid song and dance. And it was working too! The ice was beginning to tremble around them causing miniature fractures in the wall nearby.

_Oh, oh, oh!_

_You! You! You!_

_Without_

_You! You! You!_

_Without you_

Everyone assisted in singing the chorus, except Mumble. After they were done, Atticus jumped right back in to continue from where he left off._  
>Can't erase, so I'll take blame<em>

_But I can't accept that we're estranged_

_Without you, without you_

_I can't quit now, this can't be right_

_I can't take one more sleepless night_

_Without you, without you_

__

_I won't soar, I won't climb_

_If you're not here, I'm paralyzed_

_Without you, without you_

_I can't look, I'm so blind_

_I lost my heart, I lost my mind_

_Without you_

Everyone loved the chorus, especially Bo. And seeing as how she'd been there the night Atticus and Nicki fell in love, it was even more special that he had sang this to her. She wished Erik had done something like that, but this was a moment for Atticus. _  
>Without you<em>

_Oh, oh, oh!_

_You! You! You!_

_Without_

_You! You! You!_

_Without you_

_I am lost, I am vain,_

_I will never be the same_

_Without you, without you_

_Without you_

Atticus sang very clearly, but as he remembered the night he sang this to his beloved wife for the first time, he instantly became teary, for he still didn't know of what happen to her and Kourtney for that matter.

The ice wasn't cracked as much as the group had previously hoped. A huge dent like cleavage was formed in-between the large crack and the ground that which the right amount of force could break. The thing was, everyone was tired from dancing and singing to make the first progression towards freedom. As Mumble leaned over, panting raspy and trying desperately to catching any wind, he wasn't so keen to just give up on the spot. He turned his head over to Atticus, who was also panting, but he was walking over to icicles that had been knocked down and was trying to throw them at the damaged wall. Mumble liked the idea of Atticus' plan, so he then proceeded to jaculate **(it means to throw)** the small remnants of ice at the splinter. Ramon was passed out on the ground from trying, so he didn't even get up. Carmon was exhausted, but she began throwing anyway. Bo didn't even notice, for she was looking the other way; blood was pounding in her ears so she couldn't hear them either. The blood was deafening to her, the sound of the ice hitting the crack was blocked out by shear rushing, and it was beginning to make her somewhat blind.

Ice after ice caused a shuddering ring to sound off through the small ice area where the gang was trapped. Within the rupture, the howl of the interior shattering beneath the constant beat down caused the wall to break away and slowly fall; the scatter of our friends was still unheard by Bo. Mumble was safely out of the way of the collapsing wall, but he noticed his daughter-in-law not moving, covering her ears, and flailing in what looked like a painful situation. He jumped out in front of the wall and slid as fast as he possibly could to try and shove her out of the way. Bo felt a force nailed her and she flung across the ice and hit up against the other side of the prison. Bo watched as Mumble disappeared beneath the ice and when the ice was settled, there was no noise.

"Mumble! Are you okay?" She yelled to the penguin that might be there. She felt her foot get wet, and when she looked down, she saw a small puddle of blood come out from under the ice. She broke down crying, and as everyone came around to mourn, but then Mumble pulled himself out from under the slab. However, no one saw him.

"It's not supposed to be like this!" Bo said quietly to herself. Atticus came and patted her on the shoulder, and tried to comfort her.

"There was a reason for it right? Maybe we're being tested."

"I don't want to be tested. I just wish he didn't have to gone so soon." Mumble was sick of hearing this so he decided it was time to show himself.

"Oh please, you can't get rid of me that easily." Mumble announced to everyone.

"Mumble, you're okay! Thank the Great Guin!" Bo said running into his flippers and giving him a massive hug. Mumble pulled back and shook his head.

"Don't thank the Great Guin Bo, thank the ice for breaking the way it did. You see there was an indent in the ice where I was, so I threw myself back into it, and, when the wall hit the ground the spine of it was broken, allowing me to get out, provided I pushed through a few thin mounds of snow." Mumble explained how he survived to everyone.

"Pa…" Bo said, and Mumble looked in amazement, "I don't care how you survived, I'm just over joyed you are okay." Her head fell, "Now if only Erik and Gab were here." Mumble lifted a flipper and picked her head up.

"It's alright Bo, we'll find them. And the best part, now we have a way out." He said pointing towards the huge gap created by them in the icy cell. The gang slowly moved out into the light, ready to find their missing family. I'm sure they'd be glad to hear they were all safe.

(With Nicki and the kids)

Nicki was trying very hard to see to it that the kids' voices didn't cause the icicles overhead to rain down on them, but they were scared for their lives, so the screaming, crying, and whining wasn't exactly kept to a minimum. She made a number of attempts to quiet them down, but they were not doing any good, so Nicki just accept the sad truth that she had to let the kids cry. Since there was unfortunately nothing she could do, she just limped over to a corner and sat down, waiting for the kids to cry out all their tears.

The sun was long gone, and the moon was high over the arctic sky when they ceased to drain out their tears, the only issue was, Jake and Gabriel had cried themselves to sleep, damp in a small pool of their own water. Only Kourtney lie awake, staring through the opening that lead to the outside world, the jump to freedom far too high for the chicks to make. Nicki had been watching over everyone like she was their real mother, besides Kourtney, and when she noticed that her daughter was awake, she thought she'd try to be comforting. She went over to her, but like always in their family, the little one always got the first word.

"Mama…is it my fault? About what happened to us today?" Kourtney asked.

"No, of course not sweetie, these kinds of things happen and no one can do a thing about them. I'm not one to point any flippers at anyone; we're all in this together, so I guess it's kind of all our faults."

"Maybe, but what if no one else out there is, well, alive? What if we're the only ones who are still standing on this ice, watching this moon? And Syrena, she's my best friend in the whole world, and…and I don't know if…if…" Kourtney stopped where she was and started crying miserably. It was a horrible sight for Nicki; no mother should ever be forced to watch their child cry in front of them for something that is out of their control. It was a feeling that was absolutely killing her.

"Kourtney, I promise you, there'll be others out there, and when we find them, we'll never let us be separated again, how's that sound?"

Kourtney looked up from her sorrow and gazed into her mother's eyes after her proposal. She liked to believe her, but she was still very uncertain. "Thank you Mama, I believe it. And…we will find the others, and when we do, I'm gonna throw flippers around each and every one of them and give them the biggest hug they've ever had. Especially Pa, and Syrena of course."

Nicki smiled and let her chick sit in her lap as the two gazed out the opening towards the beautifully lit moon as per done by the moonlight. It was surely a sight to behold, and when they were just feeling sleepy, two young boys kicked awake.

"Ahhh!" Jake yelled. Nicki turned her head to Jake and immediately asked,

"Jake what's wrong?" But to her confusion he said,

"Well Mama, I had a nightmare that we were on our way to Adelie Land and there was this big disaster and I ended up in a…" He then realized he was talking to Nicki, and looked around to see that it wasn't a nightmare. "Oh…no, no, no…it can't be!" Jake whined.

"I told him it wasn't a dream, but I guess I can't blame him for not believing me." Gab said to Nicki, half asleep himself. He looked like he was about to pass out, he didn't seem like he should've woken up at all. But Nicki remained vigilant and took charge of the kids' wellbeing and stay in demand of rest.

"I'm sorry Jake, but Gab is right. We really are trapped here, but we'll be fine," she looked out the gaping hole, "I can feel it." She then padded the kids back to the cozy little spot where they had been resting in the corner of the ice, but Kourtney had other ideas.

She wanted to be sure there was no way out of this little holding cell of theirs. So she slowly crept over to the ice ledge where she could see the ocean. Nicki wasn't kidding when she said it was a far drop. Kourtney looked over and felt like someone was gonna come up behind her and push her off, but at the same time, she also had a sudden urge to jump. But then don't we all have those feelings when standing in a high place? Kourtney stole a look at the boys and her Mama who were starting to settle down, so she figured it was do, or unfortunately in this case, literally, die. **(Do or Die; I hate that system of choosing) **Nicki was beginning to turn around, so Kourtney figured this was her chance. She closed her eyes and let herself fall from grace over the edge.

The air that was flowing past Kourtney's face was causing an inflammation of her cheeks, making her smile and giggle as she fell. The water below didn't seem like it was getting any closer. So Kourtney figured she'd play around a little, she did flips, spins, ran in mid-air. To her it was all very fun and if she was in danger, I'm sure she would've had a blast. But when the icy liquid finally did appear to draw nearer, she tucked herself into a diving position her mother had taught her and waited for the contact. Now only a few feet from the waters surfaces, she closed her eyes and remembered this was her choice.

Nicki had realized she jumped a little too late, and watched her daughter fall, speechless to any noises, for she was in too much shock and terror to scream or cry at the moment. When she saw the small splash she had made way down there, she wasn't sure whether to cry or to jump herself. The decision was mind boggling, but she saw a small white-gray puff surface. Yes, it was true, to Nicki, far beyond relief; Kourtney had survived the jump into the water, and had proved the fall wasn't too much to handle for the young chicks, as long as they stayed completely straight. The boys were half asleep, so she quickly snatched them up, threw them on her back and told them to hold on. Gab felt himself go air borne and completely started panicking.

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh! I'm falling, I'm falling!" He was gripping Nicki's feathers so hard that he might had ripped them off if he held any tighter.

"Just remain still Gab you'll be fine." She said and turned her beak back down.

Somehow, Jake rallied to Gab side. "Gab, be strong buddy, we'll live, if Kourtney can do it, then so can we." Both Gab and Nicki we stabbed by Jake's sudden courage, I mean, where on the ice did that even possibly, even remotely come from? But there was no time for thinking, the grip tightened and the three penguins wisped into the water, barely making even a splash.**(It's actually a proven fact that if you fall into water perfectly straight, even from a high height, you will survive. However, I think this rule applies only to about 500-700 feet. After that, you're outta luck. This is because if one were to hit water from an altitude like that, it would be like cannon-balling into a New York City sidewalk.)**

The three penguins surfaced, utterly unscolded by the length of the fall they all shared. The moment was a gift to all of them, but Kourtney was about to get a very stern talking-to. "Kourtney…what were you thinking?" Nicki yelled quietly, as to not raddle any nearby loose ice.

"I was just trying to…you know what Mama, isn't you who tells me not to worry about things that don't happen?" Kourtney was right, when she was little, her Mama did say that things that don't happen aren't worth thinking about. **(This is my philosophy, on most things.)**

Nicki thought, and then agreed, in her head of course; wouldn't wanna give her that kind of satisfaction. The four swam off, and with the ice only a short while away this was going to be a very cold night for the four of them. At least they had returned to the ground.

(With Syrena, **Finally!**)

The shadow grew bigger as the figure came around the corner towards Syrena. She was trembling, too petrified to move. Was it a leopard seal? Skua? Some other nasty Antarctic predator? The crunching of the snow was making Syrena's whole world shake, but once the dark image came around the corner, she still couldn't move.

"Who are you? And no, I'm not your Pa." He said. It was a penguin, Emperor by the looks of him. Also, he didn't seem much older than Syrena; this penguin had shed most of his baby down, but he was only a few inches taller than her, he also had a voice that cracked, showing he was making the transition from chick to teen. His whole upper body was somewhat thick, and his legs were a little small. To Syrena, he was like a penguin from her generation, only a few months older.

"I know you're not. And why do you care who I am?" Syrena boasted. Now that she saw this was a fellow penguin, she wasn't as scared. But the fact that he was older, as slight as it was, and that he was a boy, intimidated her just a little.

"Because this is my temporary home, and I don't take kindly to rude guests." He said.

Syrena was about to return the snooty comment when she noticed something on his foot. It was a plastic wrap, kind of like the skua her grandpa told her about. She gazed at it, wonder if the aliens had come back, but snapped herself back into the real world.

"Where did you get that?" She said pointing to his leg.

"What this? I don't care for it. Honestly I wish it would just go away, it's caused me nothing but pain and heart ache." He said turning away, but then remembered that he never got her name. "Hey, wait…I didn't get your name, and why you're here." He said a lot more politely, almost like Syrena had poked a soft point on him.

"Syrena…Syrena from Emperor Land. There was a horrible accident, my friends and family all got split up. But, I ended up here by myself." She said to him. "What's your name?"

"I don't know any more Syrena, I thought I had a family like you didn't…but I've been without them for like so long." He said turning back away but this time he actually walked away.

"Maybe I could help you find your name?" She said waddling after him. He looked down at her to his side with depressed eyes.

"I wish you could Syrena, but the things who gave me this…" he said sitting down and pointing at his little yellow tag, "Took them away, I was so little, and I still am." Syrena felt sorry for her sudden companion.

"Did you ever find your heartsong?" She asked him. He gave her a confused look.

"What's that?" He asked her.

"Well, your heartsong is something every young penguin of my nation finds, so that when they get older, they can sing to find their love." Syrena was holding in her surprise that he'd never heard of a heartsong.

"Sounds good, for you at least. I like to sing, but no one in my family sings, ever time I'd do it I'd be punished. So I never found my 'heartsong', as you call it. But clearly, you know better than I." He said letting his eyes lock gazes with her's.

This triggered a strange feeling within Syrena, she felt as though she was meant to help this penguin, and this penguin was meant to help her too. "Syrena, what did you say heartsongs were used to find?" The boy asked.

"It's something my Pa calls…love." Syrena said slowly and quietly. "Maybe, if I sing with you, you can find your name and your heartsong, wanna give it a try?" She asked.

"I don't know Syrena, I'm scared to sing. My whole life I've always associated singing with pain."

"So did my Pa, but then he met my Mama, and she help him sing. Would it be weird if I did the same to you?" Syrena said standing up and giving her new friend a hug. He returned the affection by wrapping one flipper over her back and pulling her close.

"I guess not, but does it work?" He said giving her a look of uncertainty. She looked up at him and said,

"I know better than you, don't I?" She answered with a grin. This made the boy smile,

"You know better than I, you know better than I…" **(You Know Better Than I- David Campbell)**

This boy reminded Syrena of her Pa, scared to sing. But then he met a girl who changed his life, she had begun to wonder if this was the same.

_I thought I did what's right_

_I thought I had the answers_

_I thought I chose the surest road_

_But that road brought me here_

_So I put up a fight_

_And told you how to help me_

_Now just when I have given up_

_The truth is coming clear_

For this penguin to think of pain when he sang, Syrena thought he was outstanding, even though it was such a soft song. But his lyrics made her feel even more sympathetic for him.

_You know better than I_

_You know the way_

_I have let go the need to know why_

_For you know better than I_

Syrena's eyes grew wide, he actually used their conversation into his song. She had never seen anyone do that before. He smiled at her a little and continued, with an increase in pitch too.

_I saw one cloud and thought it was the sky_

_I saw a bird and thought that I could follow_

_But it was you who taught that bird to fly_

_If I let you reach me _

_Will you teach me?_

Syrena nodded in answer to his song's question, and then he stood up and sung very loudly.

_For you know better than I_

_You know the way_

_I've let go the need to know why_

_I'll take what answers you supply_

She sang the last one with him.

_You know better than I_

Syrena was about ready to faint. She'd never heard anyone sing like that, not even her own Pa. But she was starting to worry if she liked this boy more than Gab.

The penguin sat back down and took a deep breath; he was clearly feeling much better about himself. And Syrena was right there to comfort and praise him. "Oh Zev, that was absolutely beautiful!" She exclaimed. He looked confused all of a sudden.

"Zev? Where'd you get that?" He asked her.

"I don't really know, it just came to me when we sang together." She explained.

He thought about it for a moment, and he actually didn't mind it. He smiled and looked up at her, "Zev, I like it. You've helped me find my heartsong, and my name. I'll be grateful to you forever Syrena." Zev said to her.

The two penguins curled up together and slept the night away, and suddenly Syrena wasn't so scared of the world anymore. She had her new friend Zev, or maybe, he was something more than a friend?

**Yeah! Woot woot! Finally, now I can set the whole story off. By the way, I promise I won't do that whole update by paragraph thing, that was really stupid. And in case anyone has something to say about it, I really like the name Zev and I think his and her names sound good together. Anyways, I dedicate the rest of this story to my two loving little dogs, Tito and Lexi whom we were forced to give away. I love you little guys, and be on the lookout for chapter 4! **


	5. Ignorance From Within

**So Syrena is in good flippers with Zev, Mumble and others made it out of their ice trap, Nicki and the kids jumped and lived, Gloria and Hayley made it back to shore, and Age and Erik have their fire back in their hearts and minds. Seems like everything is going fine for everyone, I wonder how long that'll last. No…just kidding, anyway, I couldn't help but notice, that no one in my stories ever fight, so what if a fight broke out in one of the groups, and what if Age had the fortune of ending up being just the person to win that fight? I'm also gonna change up the order of which I tell about them.**

Family Bonds of a Different Kind

Chapter 4

Ignorance From Within

A sharp wind blew through the passage that Syrena and Zev were asleep under. The icicles overhead raddled, making a ringing noise that awoke the pair and caused them to hold their ears.

"What is that noise?" Zev strained to say.

"I don't know, but I'm getting away from it!" Syrena yelled and hurried out of the shelter with Zev close behind. It was a fairly long little crevasse they were resting in, but at least they got far enough away from the ice that their ears stopped rattling. "Oh my gosh, that's gonna sting for a while." Zev said rubbing his ear drum.

"I know, geez, I haven't hurt my ears that bad since I heard my Grandpa try to sing." Syrena whimpered, also scratching where her ear was. Zev looked at her with confusion.

"What, every penguin can sing can't they? What's so different about the way your Grandpa sings?" He asked. Syrena shot him a smart look.

"Well it's clear Zev, he can't. He dances instead, and he taught our whole nation how." Syrena explained to Zev. "Yeah, I remember how he told me about when he went to the Adelie Land, the Alien place where there were other penguins. Ah, it was such a nice tale, bravery, trust, loyal, but my favorite of all…love." Zev didn't really know much about this word.

"What's that word mean again?" He asked.

"Well…" Syrena really didn't know how to answer, "Well, it's something that you feel when you get really close to someone else. A feeling like you're not a whole penguin without them. But the easiest way to tell if you love someone, according to my Pa, is by singing with them. That's how he came to love my Mama." Syrena explained. Zev seemed very fascinated by this thing called 'love'.

"Hmm, interesting, I've not really seen anything like it before. The only time I ever heard or used the word was when my Mama tucked me in and she said, 'I love you' or when my parents sang toge…" the bell rung I his head; Sang! "Oh…now I get it!" He announced in understanding.

Syrena stopped rubbing her ears and starting walking out of the crevasse. Zev also halted his rubbing to try and look manly and capable of dealing with pain. He followed and the two were quiet for a few minute of walking. Zev started whistling a tune, a tune that Syrena wasn't familiar with, so she just smiled and listened as he played it along. After about another minute, he stopped whistling, but then Syrena started whistling her own little song. But the thing was, she was whistling something a little catchier, in Zev's opinion.

_Hmm-Hm-Hmhm-Hmmmmm-Hmm_

_Hm-Hm-Hm-Hmmm-Hmmmmmmmmmmm_

_Hmmm-Hmm-Hmm-Hmm_

_Hmm-Hmm-Hmmm-Hmmhmmm-Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm_

"Wow, that's really good Syrena." Zev complimented her. She shot him a smile,

"Thanks Zev, but, you know you can just call me Syri right? Granted, I like Syrena, but it just feels a little long." She told him. Syrena was indeed a nice name she thought, but she liked it when people called her by nicknames sometimes.

"I can't see why, I really like your name. Syrena, it's very beautiful, who gave you that name?" Zev asked her. She blushed, and then answered.

"My Pa…he said he wanted to give me a name our nation could praise and give hope into." Zev didn't know what she was trying to say, so he diverted back to the humming she was doing.

"So, that little song you did, I liked it, what was it?" Zev asked her. Syrena thought for a second,

"I don't really know, I just kind of, though it up." Then she had an idea, "Oh…why don't we try to match words to it, I think we're gonna be walking through this for a while." Syrena said as she looked at the ice walls surrounding where they were. "Zev, why'd you go so far back into the pass if you were only just spending the night?" She asked before they began.

"Well, I had to be sure that I wouldn't have any uninvited guests like leopard seals or skuas dropping by. But then of course, you came along." Zev said and gave her a smile. "Okay, let's see here…" As he thought back to what she was humming,

_If I…_uh…

Syrena thought back too, and then she helped out a little.

_Never…_

Zev had an idea after that.

_Knew…you_

He sang with question in his voice. Syrena nodded, showing she liked it and continued.

_If I never…felt_

She didn't know what to say after that. But Zev had an idea as well.

_This…love_

Syrena turned to him in surprise, and then said "Maybe we should stop there for now." She said turning away and blushing.

Zev felt bad for saying what he did, in no way did he mean to offend her, he cared about her a lot; for she was his friend, his only friend. "I'm sorry Syrena, it kind of just came out and…" Syrena stopped him from apologizing.

"There's no need for that Zev, I liked it, it's just…" As she thought about Gab, "Sort of strange for me right now."

Zev understood, she was thinking about someone, he could feel it. This made him feel very sad, he didn't know why. Perhaps he was lying to himself, and he had started developing feelings for Syrena, after all, he was only a few months older than her, she was only a few inches shorter than him, and yeah he had shed most of his baby down and she didn't, doesn't mean that they couldn't be together right? The thought poked a soft spot on his heart, and he was about to say something when he noticed that they came out of the passage.

"Oh…looks like we're out." He said nervously. Syrena noticed his sudden stressed mood.

"Zev, is something wrong?" She asked kindly.

"No, it's just…I've been think that…"

"You've stepped onto the wrong territory." A deep voice from above said.

They two looked up, and above them flew a large skua and several other were flying near him. They then swooped down and grabbed both of them before they had anytime to try and get away, in which their straining to break free wasn't doing any good.

"Where are you taking us?" Zev yelled to the skua carrying him.

"Yeah! Where!" Syrena yelled to the main skua who was carrying her. He just shot them both an evil grin, and said,

"I think our boss could use both of you, he's been longing for a new entertainment piece forever." Zev and Syrena had the same thought as they were being flown to wherever they were going.

"Entertainment…?" Zev mumbled, "This won't be good."

(With Age and Erik on their way to the top)

Age was bounding up the ice path to reach the site of the ice, meanwhile Erik was behind him huffing and puffing for air. Yeah, he wanted to find his wife and son, but I mean come on, a penguin needs a breather.

"Agggeee…" He huffed sounding like he was about to pass out, "Caaan weeee pluse soop foo uhhh secccc…." He coughed horribly and then collapsed. Age heard the thud of his 'brother' on the ice behind him, and then stopped, and ran back to him.

"Erik, did you pass travel class in Penguin Elementary?" Age asked him.

"Uhhh…nnnnhooooo…" Erik gasped, then rolled over onto his back, his chest rising and falling at an unhealthy pace. Age noticed and started worrying.

"Whoa Erik, slow down your breathing, you're gonna choke yourself." Then Erik started to slow down a little, he was still hyperventilating. "Okay, now try to stand up." Age directed, Erik was helped to his feet, and then seemed to still be drinking in air, but he was good enough to walk.

"Thanks…Age." He said and tried to give him a smile. Age returned the grin, and then he put his flipper over Erik's shoulder and helped him walk up the slope. As they walked, at a much slow pace than before, Erik thought he start some conversation, but he wasn't very good at it. "So…do you think Syrena's okay?" He asked.

Age shot him a look, and then he looked down, then he spoke to Erik. "I really don't know bro. I know that she's probably safe to one degree or another, but still…something's just not right. Like there's a presence surrounding the issue that could be trouble." Age said.

This made Erik think on the issue; it also made him realize that he wasn't the only one who felt it. It's true, sometime last night; both Erik and his 'brother' had a strange feeling that a new obstacle had come into all this. Whether that was a good or a bad obstacle, neither could seem to tell. "Hey Age?" Erik said, "Remember that weird feeling we both got last night?" Age nodded, "Well suddenly, I think it might have something to do with Syrena." Erik pointed out. Age went into worry mode after Erik said this.

"Well we better hope that it doesn't. She's the same age as the other kids, for her to take on a problem like this must be so scary and impossible." But then he thought back to what a strong girl she'd been along the way to where they were now, and a smile crept onto his face, "Bah, she'll be fine. I know she will; Syrena is a tough little one. The way she treats the world, and the way she sees it, if there's any penguin that can do this, it's probably her." Age and Erik were both filled with positive emotions as they realized that their 'family' was full of tough and headstrong penguins. They were a frumpy bunch, so as a whole they were unstoppable, scattered apart, they'd still be some of the strongest, most wise and powerful group Antarctica and Emperor Land had ever seen. Even from little sensitive Jake up to Mumble, they were the best Emperor Land had to offer.

The two reached the top of the cliff and began to search through the scattered remains of what the ledge used to be. Since the weak part had fallen off during the disaster, there was no need to watch where they stepped. Besides if all came to worst, they'd just jump again; it's not like jumping wasn't fun to a degree for either of them. As Age checked the section of the ice near the edge, Erik discovered the pit in which the gang had been previously caught in. Erik also noticed how the ice was red in a spot, and seeing as how it was coming from under a huge chunk of ice, he assumed the worst.

"Age, you might wanna come see this!" He yelled to Age. Age then came waddling over and saw the red coming from under the ice, and made a stern face, and then he remember what he said,

_Not until I have proof…_he thought. He then slid on his belly down the steep wall until he came up to the ice and noticed the trail leading out of the gaping hole into the outside. He figured who ever this was got real lucky and then waddled out, but they must've gotten hurt. "Hey Erik, look!" He yelled to him when he noticed all the scattered foot prints on the ground.

"You think it's theirs?" He yelled down to Age. But then a shadow of a bird came over the area and within seconds there were dozens of skuas. Erik quickly jumped down to his brother's side and got back to back with him. The skuas circled around them and soon a bigger one landed in front of them.

"What do you two think you're doin'?" He demanded.

"And what's it to you?" Erik snapped in a rude voice.

"This here is our territory! You got no right being here, so get out before we take you to see our boss. We already snagged up two little flipper birds today, getting two big ones would only make him happier. Good for us, but very bad for you!" The skua said. **(This isn't the same Boss Skua from the movies)**

This lit a fire inside Age, 'two little penguins?' what if they were some of the kids? "Age…what's the plan?" Erik whispered to Age. But Age just leaned over to the skua and said,

"Take us to these 'little flipper birds', they're friends of ours. That's why we're here, we're looking for them. There are twelve of us, several adults and four chicks." Age explained. The skua seemed uninterested.

"Well I ain't seen no other flipper birds 'round here but the little ones. However, if you come peacefully, we might be able to work something out." He tried to persuade them. Age seemed discontent to trust the word of a skua, but if these penguins were the kids, he had no choice.

"Fine…let's go." Age said a serious look on his face. Erik seemed shock by what his brother just did.

"Alright then, just move quietly, and no one gets hurt." The boss skua said and flew up, and then all the other skuas began cawing and pushing Erik and Age in a certain direction.

"Dude…what are you doing?" Erik whispered to Age so that the boss couldn't hear him. Age just kept his head down.

"Trust me." He said as they were forced on.

(With Mumble, Bo, Atticus, Ramon, and Carmon)

The five were busy making their way down the cliff when they heard the loud calls of the skuas on the cliff above. It was early in the morning, they had decided to spend one night still inside the ice trap for safety reasons, and once they awoke, they moved out. The loud jumbling of the skuas above caused them all to go and hide in nearby cracks. Bo thought she heard Erik's voice up there, but she brushed off the thought, for she had seen him jump over the edge of the ice with Age the other day. As the mass of skuas began to go away, Mumble gave the signal to start sliding down the ice on their bellies. As the five began to slide down, Atticus was aroused by curiosity.

"So what do you think they were after up there?" He asked aloud to everyone. Ramon was the first to answer.

"Yo **(Spanish word for "I"= "Yo") **think that they saw the blood Fluffy left from almost getting collapsed on and thought it was something for them to eat." Carmon acknowledged this,

"I agree, but I could've sworn I heard some voices up there." She said. Bo heard this and stepped in.

"Yeah, I could hear someone's voice. I think it was Erik's; but I don't think that's real. We saw him jump yesterday, there's no way he could climb back up that cliff overnight and show up to find us just as we leave…right?" She asked to Mumble specifically, but anyone could've answered.

"I'm not sure Bo, seems unlikely, but it's very possibly. Unfortunately for us, even if we wanted to go back and check, this slope is getting too steep to walk up." He yelled as they raced down the ice on all their bellies. Bo saw that he was right, be she still couldn't shake this feeling that she knew she heard Erik's voice up there. Bo was forced to give up the thought as the group slid down onto the ground and came to a halt. "Alright, now that we're out of that death trap, what should we do?" Mumble questioned out loud. Atticus had an idea.

"Yo, Uncle Mumble! Before we got trapped I noticed Aunt Gloria and Hayley jump over the side of the ice and into the water. Maybe we should comb the shoreline a ways. I mean, it could never hurt to try right?" Atticus claimed. Mumble agreed that he had a point to his suggestion, he too had noticed that Gloria and Hayley were forced to jump over the edge, and in the events that were taking place at the time, there weren't too many places they could go.

"Alright, but we are not splinting up. Under no circumstances is anyone to split up, understand?" He announced to everyone. They all nodded their heads in accord, and then the group made their way down to the shoreline. Mumble observed the coast and made his decision. "We'll do this simply, we will go this way first…" he said pointing down the short way towards the cliff, "And then we'll go the long way. Check every ice crevasse and crack, they could be stuck somewhere." The group then walked down the ice along the sea towards the cliff way, checking in every ice shelter they could find, big ones, small ones, and even ones that could only hold a chick, but there was still no sign of Gloria or Hayley. Mumble ordered everyone to start going the other way, and this wasn't to their liking. By this point, it was noon, and the sun was right above their heads, to them it was hot and exhausting work. But they knew that if they found their friends, it would totally be worth it.

"Uncle Mumble, this isn't working!" Atticus said after he looked through what he thought was his hundredth crack. "Couldn't we just try and sing to them instead?" Mumble seemed dumbfounded, he actually hadn't thought of that.

"Actually, yes, we can try that. That way if they hear us, they can find us by following the sound. Good thinking Atticus." Mumble approved of Atticus' idea. Though Mumble still felt bad about letting a solution that obvious fly right over his head. "It has to be something loud…" Mumble said to himself. Then, Ramon and Carmon both had the same idea.

"Pardon Senor Mumble…" Carmon said formally, "I believe mi hombre y yo have a solution, or more or less a song."

"Go ahead then…give it your all." Mumble fired at them, and then everyone prepared to dance and sing. Carmon and Ramon looked at one another and then fired up their feet and pumped their voices to the sky for anyone to hear. **(Americano-Lady Gaga)**

Ramon was the first to go, as he started by complimenting Carmon.

_I met a girl in east L.A._

_I floral short as sweet as May_

_She sang in Eights and Two Barrio chords_

_We fell in Love_

_But not in court_

Carmon didn't understand the last word, but continued anyway with a smile on her face.

_AhhAhhAhh_

_America, Americano_

_AhhAhhAhh_

_America, Americano_

Then she added a little Spanish to the mix.

_Mis concion se son de la re revolution_

_Mi Corazon me duele por mi generacion_

_If you love me, we can marry on the west coast_

_On a Wednesday _

_En el verano_

_En Augusto_

Ramon liked this clever converge of Spanish, so he thought he'd play off it.

_I don't speak your _

_I don't speak your_

_Language oh no_

_I don't speak your_

_I won't speak your_

_Heyzeus cirsto_

Carmon nodded, and then continued.

_AhhAhhAhh_

_America, Americano_

_AhhAhhAhh_

_America, Americano_

Ramon looked over to Atticus and Bo to see if they wanted to join, and Bo stepped right up.

_Don't you try to catch me_

_Don't you try to catch me_

_No, no, no, no_

_I'm living on the edge of,_

_Living on the edge of the law, law, law, law_

Atticus had the same idea.

_Don't you try to catch me_

_Don't you try to get me_

_No, no, no, no_

_Don't you try and get me_

_Living on the edge of the law, law, law, law_

Talk about a foreign bang, in Mumble's opinion.

At first, there was dead silence, it seemed as though it hadn't made a difference. But then they heard someone familiar, "Mumble, is that you?" Mumble heard it called from behind everyone. They all turned and behind them were Gloria, and Hayley.

"Gloria, you're okay!" He rejoiced and raced towards his mate with open flippers. Mumble and Gloria held a very tight hug for a long time and Hayley was thrilled to see her BFF, Bo and her other friends. But the celebration didn't last until she said,

"Bo…where's Age?" Hayley asked. Everyone shook their heads,

"We don't know Bo, sorry. In fact, Age, Erik, Syrena, Nicki and the other kids are also still missing. By the way, how'd you find us?" Atticus answered her question, and then asked another.

"Well we were asleep in a cover over there towards the cliff; we figured it would be safe to get away from the water. Everyone singing and dancing woke us up, and so we came out and saw you all." Hayley said with a smile.

"This is good, now we just have to find the others." Gloria said. "You think they're okay?"

"I hope so Gloria, I really hope so." Mumble said to her.

(Nicki and the kids on land)

Shortly after swimming to the ice after the group had jumped from their perch, the four settled down on shore. They were all too tired to go anywhere after, so they spent the night on the ice near the water. Nicki knew better than to do this, but there's no moving three sleepy chicks once they clunk out. When the sun first appeared over the ocean, Kourtney was actually the first to awake, she then proceeded to wake up her Mama, and through some 'persuasion', they managed to get Jake and Gab up on their feet and moving. This unfortunately meant that they missed the passing of our group, in which they could've joined back up and have been safe, but since they started moving as early as they did, they missed them and remained on their own. Not that any of them had done this on purpose of course; they all wanted nothing more than to be safe with their friends and family, but at least Kourtney had her Mama, and Nicki was starting to act like a Mama to Jake and Gab. The three kids knew not where they were going, but Nicki seemed to have a rough idea of where to go.

"Alright…" she said in the wee hours of the morning before anyone moved, "That's the way we came, and that's where we jumped," She said surveying the landscape. "Which would mean Adelie Land is that way!" She pointed. Yes, she did want to search for her friends and family, but with her bearing almost all the kids, she had to get then to direct safety.

A few hours after this, the four were moving gently through the mountain pass, and to their convenience, there was a path already marked in the snow. Nicki assumed that this was a path used to get to and from Adelie Land. As they walked in an upwards direction, Nicki and the others were wondering about the boost of morale that had overcome Jake last night. He'd always been so frightened of, well, everything. And yet as he was plummeting towards water, he was probably the calmest of them all. Pretty soon, the one who couldn't take the thought anymore was Kourtney.

"Jake?" She asked him curiously, and he looked over to her, "Where did you find that courage last night? It sort of took us all by surprise, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who was thinking about it." Kourtney was right.

Jake didn't seem like he knew how to respond, so he looked like he came up with an excuse. "Well, it just felt like it was needed. I saw how scared Gab over here was, and, it just sort came over me." Gab stepped up and said,

"So, you became the inspiration of all of us…in an instant?" He questioned Jake.

"I guess, maybe it's the first of many, because quite honestly, I like it." Jake announced to his friends.

Nicki smiled at her little 'cousin' for his actions. "Maybe you'll be a pathfinder someday too!" Nicki said to the chick, "Remember how your Pa is one? And your big brother is trying to become one himself." She reminded Jake.

"I know, I never thought about being a pathfinder, it seemed to be too hard." Jake thought aloud. He was right to a degree, becoming a pathfinder ever since Uncle Richie did has been harder than it ever was before. _It was never an obstacle for my big brother Age…maybe I should try. _He wonder what'd I'd be like if everyone gathered around to watch him bear witness to him, Jake, the first ever second generation pathfinder. It was a fantasy that seemed to just dream up itself, a vision that was somehow made out of nothing.

"Jake…what are you doing?" Kourtney asked him. Jake snapped out of his thoughts, he didn't even notice he was gesturing like he was thanking penguins and accepting applause, apparently he was really stuck inside his day dream.

"Haha, come you guys." Nicki said to the chicks and urged them on through the pass.

Towards the top of the path the wind picked up extremely, blowing some of the penguins backwards a little, and as the moved almost to its highest point, the chicks were about ready to be blown away. Jake hung onto a rock he found and didn't let go. Kourtney grasped her Mama's leg; meanwhile Gab was determined to push forward without looking like he had to hold onto anything at all. It'd been a while since they had been at the bottom, so not only was it blowing fiercely; it was also like a mini blizzard. There was snowing flying at them in all direction, ice cold to the touch.

"Why'd we go this way?" Gab yelled back to Nicki over the howl of the wind.

"This is the way to Adelie Land!" She shouted back.

"Are you sure? This sure isn't looking like it!" Gab called.

"Yes Gab, I'm very sure!" Nicki thundered to him, but then a very sharp wind rushed past them and sent Gab flying back to Nicki, knocking her over, and due to physics, since there was no longer a solid point of connection, Nicki was blown back over the side of the cliff, Kourtney, who was holding on was dragged along.

Nicki screamed as she hit the side of the mountain with her belly, trying to break the fall and start sliding down. It seemed to work, but at a cost, when the three hit the soft snow on the ground, they were trapped in a snow drift pit, surrounded by rock with only one way out. Nicki was to injured to move at the moment, but Jake had cautiously moved over to the side and called down to them.

"Are you guys okay down there?" He was little; he didn't know whether to ask any better.

"Go get help Jakey, my Mama is hurt." Kourtney yelled up to him. "Don't fall down here."

"What are you crazy?" Jake protested down to them. But after this the snow had picked up speed again, and the whiteness it caused blurred Jake view of his friends below, he could no longer see or hear them. Alone and afraid, Jake had no idea of what to do, but make it to the end of the path he was on and go find help.

(Back with Syrena and Zev)

Zev had tried breaking free of the skua's grip on him, but to no avail. He was forced to accept that he was captured by Syrena's calm words telling him not to struggle. Neither Syrena nor Zev paid attention to how long they were carried by the feathered demons above, but once they got to the hide away, it wasn't pretty. Everywhere, there were icicles hanging from above, dozens of diverse penguins, and holes in the ice that, to Syrena, were used as what appeared to be prison cells. Before the two were carried to their block, the skuas flew close to the ground and dropped them off in front of the main chamber, there, there was a huge pile of fish and ice. Zev had a hunch they were about to meet the boss of this gang, cult, whatever rude word he was to use. Seeing as how the whole fort was built into an ice wall, there was a wide open view for everyone to see. Syrena staggered to her feet as all the strange and crude looking penguins of all shapes and sizes gathered around the pile of fish and them.

"Zev…come on, get up!" Syrena whimpered to him, helping push him to his feet.

"Thanks Syrena, now I owe you three times." He said with the best smile he could manage at the current time. She smiled back, but then the crowd around them started stomping to a rhythm.

_Bum-Bum-_

_Bum-Bum-Bum-Bum_

_Bum-Bum-_

_Bum-Bum-Bum-Bum_

_Bum-Bum_

This continued for a few second until the sudden stop sent waves of fear out into the crowd, and into Syrena and Zev. They had an idea as to why it stopped, but they didn't wanna believe it. Zev was the first to turn around, and sure enough standing upon the pile, was a very husky, tall, and in-charge looking emperor penguin. He had the yellow streaks coming off his eye-brows like that of Lovelace, but she dare not say anything. He looked over them as he stared down from atop his pile, or his throne, and then snorted and looked over to another penguin, it was probably his second in command.

"This is what you have brought me? How dare you fiddle with my ambitions you whelp!" He screamed at his colleague. The penguin receiving the barrage stood his ground and shook his head in denial.

"No my lord, these are what you have asked for, just test them and see." He said waving out to them.

"Sing then! Entertain me at once!" The Emperor commanded the two. They stood, and after a few moments of doing nothing, the Emperor began to grow impatient. "Fine! If you won't sing I'll force you to! Put them in separate holding cells, and don't bring them before me again unless they both agree to sing, and no food either." The Emperor commanded, his second in command followed the orders and had a number of skuas escort the two in different directions. Syrena was then shown to her holding cell, which was nothing more than a hole in the ice that you could get out of if a skua carried you out, Zev's was the same way. The second in command followed Syrena, and he personally shoved her down the cell. As she recovered from the short drop and looked back up,

"I'd sing for him if you know what's good for you little one." He said in a voice that wasn't trying to sound evil. "I'm afraid you don't know what you're up against, he's powerful, and from what I heard, you and your friend could be just the ones to finally give him what he wants. Keep that in mind…" he explained to her then he vanished from sight. Syrena waddled over to a corner and huddled up into a ball. There was nothing she could think about, besides Zev.

The whole time she'd known Zev, there was something about him that just made her feel so safe. He had an exceptional talent in music, something that reminded her of her Pa Age. He nice, sweet, and little shaky when they first met, but still there was something she felt in her heart that told her Zev was the one. Syrena thought she loved Gab, they'd always had spent so much time together, and he was exactly like Zev, and yet she hadn't ever felt this way around Gab.

_Why am I denying it to myself? _She thought, _The way he sings, the courage he showed, sure he's not perfect, but maybe he's perfect for me. I guess it's true then,_ she remembered what her Pa had told her the day she hatched.

(The day she hatched)

"_Daddy, how do you know when you're in love?" Syrena was much too young to ask such a question, but there was no question, after all Age had been through, and he was going to go through, he knew the answer._

"_Oh my dearest Syrena…" She looked at her Pa, "You know when."_

(Back in the present)

_He was right, I do know when, I love Zev. I do, I truly do. _Suddenly, Syrena felt completely at ease, like she wasn't worried that what she had just decided was wrong, in fact, to her it felt more right than anything she had declared before. Her whole body gently drifted into a smooth fluff out of her tucked up position and she was relaxed. A huge smiled crept onto her face as she looked up to the sky, which was just beginning to fade from light.

"I love you Zev." She whispered.

Meanwhile in Zev's holding pen, he was thinking similar thoughts. _I just met her, how could I love her already? I know she'd kind, and fun, and she's got such a voice. My gosh, that is the most enchanting thing about her, that voice, oh the voice that could soothe anyone. She's just…perfect. _ It was clear to Zev by this point that if he kept asking why, the chance would eventually pass him by.

"Oh who am I kidding, I love you Syrena." He stated out loud.

After that, the two thought long and hard about how to tell the other. If it would be best to come right out and say it, to ease it into a future conversation. But the two just seemed hopeless; it was the hardest thinking they've ever had to do. So both just sat back and cried with tears at their new found feelings for one another and at their lack of words to express it. But, Syrena is the chick of Age and Hayley, so she stopped her crying, and got right up on her little penguin feet, and yelled as loud as she could.

"Zev! Zev are you there? Can you hear me?"

"Yes! I can hear you! Are you alright?" He yelled, his fire and hope relit.

"I'm fine, look Zev there's something I wanna tell you!" She shouted.

"There's something I wanna sing to you first!" Zev shouted, Syrena felt something inside her, and then she knew what it was.

"I can feel it to Zev, I can really feel it!" She hollered.

"Then by all means…please sing with me!" He asked her.

"I will Zev…I will…" She blurted out. **( I know I haven't done an original song in a long time, so to make up for it, I wrote one just for these guys, I really don't think the excerpt from 'For the World' at the beginning counted. Also, I'm going to specifically say who sings what, it'll make it more powerful) (Paint the Ground-Me)**

Zev stood right up against his wall, and sung to her as best that he could, and to her, it was nothing short of perfect.

Zev: _She walks by me, everyday_

_Oh how I wish she was mine_

_The way she is, like herself_

_Is more than I could need_

Syrena loved it already, and since she knew how to sing directly from her heart, she couldn't wait any longer to jump in.

Syrena: _He makes me laugh, all the time_

_So much for being rude_

_He's got this, about him now_

_That I can seem to clue_

The words touched Zev right in his heart, and then they sang together for the first real time.

Both: _I think about it, all the time_

_Our first date_

_Our family_

_It all can't be real_

_Do I have to paint the ground with colors?_

_Or even spell it out?_

_I wonder what, it would take _

_To ask them out right now?_

The other penguins trapped here, and even the ones standing guard were engulfed in the song. They all thought the voices went more than perfectly together, and soon enough they were demanding more. Even the Emperor had begun to listen to the captives, so Zev continued, he had more anyway.

Zev: _If there is a punishment_

_This would be it_

_The way I watch her, look at me_

_Is more than I can tell_

_And yet I see her smile_

_And I'm powerless for now_

_What does, it take? Who, what, or how?_

Syrena: _Can he see right through me?_

_I guess the time is now_

_But I walk right, up to him_

_He just seems to drag me down_

By this point, the two were in perfect sync with each other, and the Emperor was very pleased by what he was hearing from them.

Both: _I think about it all the time_

_Our first date_

_Our family_

_It all can't be real_

_Do I have to paint the ground with colors?_

_Or even spell it out?_

_I wonder what, it would take_

_To ask them out right now?_

They were by far going for an emotional climax somewhere in the song, and Zev saw this as his chance to do it. Then Syrena followed.

Zev: _I'd never do anything to harm you_

Syrena: _You know that I love the way you smile_

Zev: _May I just, hold your hand?_

Syrena: _You can kiss my lips!_

There was now no denying it, Syrena and Zev were in love, and their song proved it, in front of everyone as well as each other.

Both: _I think about it all the time_

_Our first date _

_Our family_

_It all is real_

_I had to paint the ground with colors_

_And even spell it out_

_I wonder what, it would take_

_To marry them right now?_

Zev: _Paint the ground_

Syrena: _Spell it out_

Both: _I wonder what, it would take_

_To marry them right now_

The Emperor was thrilled, and since the song also made him sleepy, he ordered them to be silenced. A few guards and skuas made the lovers sing no more and forced them to sleep.

As the night pushed on, the two had dreams of one another. Syrena was dreaming of falling asleep in Zev's flippers, and Zev was dreaming of her laughing. The images would never have come close to the real thing that could happen on the outside, and now that they knew how they felt, all that was left was for them to say to each other. Also, they had to escape from the Emperor's grasp. Nevertheless, the lovers dreamt of the other, falling more and more in love as the moments past.

Hours after the song was over, the flock of skuas escorting Age and Erik to the fort had just arrived. Age was astonished by the place, looming walls, open holding pens, and tons of penguins of all different kinds. He saw rockhoppers, adelies, emperors, macoronis, and jackasses too. The penguin count was endless, it was strange to see skuas and penguins working and living together in this manner.

"Okay, now what?" Erik asked Age in a quiet voice. Age just shushed him, for the skuas were given orders from the second in command.

"Just put them both in a holding cell on the far side. We'll have them audition tomorrow. But I highly doubt they could top that girl and her boyfriend, wow, the two most beautiful voices I've ever heard and by far the best harmonization any of us have listened to. They'll go places with those voices if they make it out of here."

This worried Age, he knew Syrena had a beautiful voice, but she didn't have a boyfriend, did she? As the two were pushed along and shoved into their ice cell, Erik just sat back up and leaned against a wall. "Well…what do we do from here?" He asked Age.

"We wait, I wanna see who this girl is that they're talking about, it sounds like it might be Syrena." Erik understood his claim, but had a valid reason to think otherwise.

"But the guard said she had a boyfriend, Syrena doesn't have a boyfriend, she's too young."

"Erik, where we come from, we usually meet the one we're meant to be with when we're born. I should know…maybe her boyfriend is Gab." Age rationalized.

"Maybe, but I highly doubt it." Erik said then laid on his side and tried to sleep.

Age stayed up for a little while longer thinking about all that had happened, but this mysterious voice that was echoing in the guards' minds intrigued him. In his heart, he knew that it had to be Syrena, how could it not? But the boyfriend he spoke of was beginning to worry Age. He thought that maybe this was the strange neutral force he and Erik had both felt come into play, and he also wondered where Hayley was, she was safe, but he didn't know. The thought of this other penguin plagued Age's mind until he passed out from thinking too hard, and even then, he had dreams of what this penguin might be.

"Oh Syrena…hang on. Your Pa is coming."

**So, I know I haven't done an original song in a long time, but this I think totally makes up for it. I read over this so many times, so I'm pretty sure there's no mistakes. Keep in mind that Syrena and Zev's voices together is supposed to sound just as powerful and beautiful as the combination of Age and Hayley's, if not more actually. I'll leave that for you to decide, tell me what you think in a review or a PM. Who sings better together: Syrena and Zev, or Age and Hayley?**


	6. A False Ego

**Looks like everything is about to get a little bit more intense; Age, Erik, Syrena, and Zev have to get out of the cultist hideout. If that wasn't bad enough, little Jake has to brave the snowy mountains to find help on his own. On a positive note, Mumble and the gang found Hayley and Gloria, so they're all together. Seems as though the story is coming to a close, if only….**

Family Bonds of a Different Kind

Chapter 5

A False Ego

The height of the whereabouts of Age, Erik, Syrena, and Zev made it a chilling morning for the group. And the chill not only came from the temperature, it also came from the presence of the leader of this repulsive cult. Why an Emperor penguin was herding a massive group of diverse penguins and skuas like it was some kind of fishing trip, none would ever really know. Age stirred from his sleep, he'd barely gotten any, and rose to his feet. His back ached with the un-comfortableness of which the ice cell had given him. On the opposite side of this, his brother Erik, had fallen fast asleep and didn't seem to be ready to wake up. Age stretched out a little to try and loosen himself up, he knew somewhere deep down that he going to break Syrena out of here, and possibly meet this boyfriend. Although the thought of Syrena having a boyfriend right now gave him discomfort, it also gave him a slight peace at mind. The reason being that she had someone who could hold her and give her hope; Syrena if anyone needed it right now. Age walked over to Erik's sleeping figure and nudged for him to awake out of his sleeping state.

"Psst, Erik…bro, wake up!" He yelled quietly. Erik moaned from his sleepy stage and looked over the penguin looming over him.

"What Age, are we supposed to go somewhere?" Erik yawned.

"No…we're busting out of here." Age announced in a still quiet voice.

"How are we supposed to do that? There are patrols all over the place; we both saw them when we came in." Erik was right, last night as they had been escorted to their holding block, they passed dozens of guard penguins and overhead skuas watching from above.

"I'm not sure, but if what I'm thinking is true about this place, we'll be preforming for our lives." With that, Erik shot right up and was wide awake.

"Okay then! How about we formulate a plan to get out of here then hmm?" Erik spawned out. Age just smiled and nodded in agreement. He began to look around, when a third voice broke the early morning silence.

"You'll need help…"

The two looked up, it was the Second-In-Command. Age suddenly had dozens of questions for him, but he'd thought he'd start off politely. "You're gonna help us?" The Second-In-Command nodded him head and crossed his flippers. "Why?" Age asked him still in confusion.

"Because…" He said, "I've seen to many talented young creatures run through here and never come out. Too long have I watched as their skills were wasted as the entertainment for our leader; so I figured, since you guys finally have the guts to try and escape, I'd tag along. You'd be surprised how long it took to find penguins like you, I've been waiting for years."

"I don't think we should trust him, he's with them." Erik said to Age's face. But the Second-In-Command spoke out again.

"What choice do you have? Besides, I already know what you two are planning, if word was to get out, we might have a few problems." The Second-In Command wasn't trying to be evil, he just really wanted to get out of there.

"He's right Erik, we really don't have a choice, beggars can't be choosers, and from where we're standing…" Age said and then looked up at Second-In-Command, "Looks like we're the beggars."

Erik snorted, he wasn't happy about this at all, but came to understand that Age was right. "Fine, but can we at least know your name? I really don't wanna keep calling you Second-In-Command!" Erik proclaimed at their newly found ally.

"I've gone by Second-In-Command for so long, I forget my real name. Well, that and 'you idiot', so I guess you can just call me Sic. You know, S-I-C?" Age giggled at the joke.

"Alright then, Sic, what do you think we should do?" Age asked him.

"Well, for starters, there's a gathering today at the main section here, if I can sweet talk my boss into letting some of the prisoner watch, I'm sure we'd be able to make a run for it." Sic explained to them.

"I'm not leaving without my daughter Sic, I know she's here. I heard the other inmates talking of her song." Age declared to him. Sic suddenly had an eyebrow raised and gave Age a look,

"Would her name happen to be Syrena, and her boyfriend's name Zev?" He asked Age. Age was thrown back by Zev. He already felt in his heart that Syrena was here, but who was this Zev penguin?

"Yeah, that's her. But…who's Zev?" Age asked curiously.

"He's the one who sang with her last night. The two of them together…you must be very proud of her, the best voice I've heard between the two by far." Sic complimented Age's little girl, and Zev.

"Thank you, and yes, I'm very proud of her. But I'd like to meet this Zev." Age asked of Sic.

"That…I can arrange; Syrena would have to be put into a different cell, there are always two to a cell. No exceptions are made for anyone or anything." Sic told them about the arrangements.

"Fine, just make sure she's at the gathering today, and I might even call you family." Age extended his gratitude to Sic. Erik was appalled by this statement; Erik was Age's brother, not this Sic penguin. Erik's rage was cut short by a morning squawking from numerous skuas from above. Sic quickly seemed worried and shot the two a look down to them.

"It's begun, the day of…well, you'll find out. I'll get you to see Zev, just promise me you'll take me with you when we bust out of here!" Sic quickly begged them. To Age's surprise, Erik was the one who said,

"Deal, just get us out." Erik demanded. Sic shot Erik a weak grin, and then bent over the side of the cell and extended a flipper to Age, after all he was an Emperor Penguin like they were.

"It's good to have someone on the outside." Age smiled at Sic's comment, and then Age reached up and shook Sic's flipper,

"It's good to have someone on the inside…" Age gave Sic a returned smile, and then Erik came over and said,

"Likewise…" Erik after then said sorry to Sic for his earlier rudeness, he told him that it was only because he wanted to get home to his beloved wife and son. Sic understood completely, and then after getting away quietly from the two, Erik turned back to Age.

"So do you think he'll come through?" Erik asked his brother. Age was tempted to say yes, but was still wasn't one hundred percent sure of Sic alliance.

"I sure hope so, he's our only chance." Age confessed.

On the other side of the hideout, Syrena was already up and awake after the sound of the cawing skuas. They scared her very much, and she half believed they were going to swoop down and eat her. Soon after her paranoid state fled, a group of three penguins came over her head and looked down at her. "The Emperor wants to see you, personally." One in the middle said. Following that, he whistled and two skuas flew down and snatched her up and then dropped her on the ice in front of the three. The center penguin then dismissed his guards, and walked with Syrena higher and higher up the keep. As they were nearing the top, the penguin pulled her aside and looked straight at her.

"What do you want? What does your Emperor want from me?" She demanded to know. The penguin just shushed her down and then covered up there spot by nudging them both into the shadows a little.

"Look, I know that you don't know me, but I know you. You're the Emperor penguin Syrena, yes?" Syrena crossed her flippers,

"And what if I am?" She spat out.

"Your Pa is here, and so is your Uncle. Their names are, uh…" As he tried to remember, "Oh yes, Age and Erik, am I wrong?" Syrena shook her head no, she didn't believe for an instant that her Pa was here, so she just played along. "My name is Sic, I'm an ally. You've got to listen to me little one; I wanna get out of here as much as you do, but to do that we'll have to work together." Syrena still didn't believe a thing Sic was telling her.

"Fine, what do I do?" She said to amuse him. Sic got somewhat excited in thinking she was onboard.

"Do whatever the boss tells you to do until the gathering today, that's when I'll break your family free." Just in case this was sincere, Syrena wasn't going to take any chances.

"I'm not leaving without Zev." Syrena stated. Sic just smiled at her.

"I thought of that, it's all taken care of. Now…just follow me and act natural." He said as he finished walking her up to the top of the hideout. Upon the pile of fish and ice like he normally was, was the Emperor penguin in charge of the cult. The Emperor eyed Syrena as she and Sic approached.

"Welcome to my estate little one, I've searched for a talent like yours for a very long time. Perhaps someday I might even grant you your own private room." He said and winked to her, Syrena held back her urge to make a yucky face at him. "Pardon me you idiot," He said to Sic, "Where is the other one?"

"I'm going to get him right now, but be patient my lord, his cell is a while away from here, I might be a while." Sic said and bowing down as he always had.

"Fine then, go!" The Emperor said and gestured for Sic to make haste and move.

Syrena was scared to be in front of this penguin alone, even if her possible new friend was claiming to be on her side. The feeling was very unsettling for poor little Syrena, but if her Pa was truly there with her, then she would sing her heart out and hold on as long as she could. Meanwhile, Sic was racing down through the keep to find Zev's cell which in truth wasn't as far away as Sic had said. He just said that that way he could allow for time to let Age and Zev meet. Sic got two more guards on his side, but these guards were skuas, so once he reached Zev's cell, he had him flown up and escorted to an open area. "Wait here." Sic ordered the skuas and Zev, Zev would've had no chance running so he sucked it up and stayed put. Sic bounded over to Age's cell and told them the news. Against time however, it was approximately 11:30 in the morning and the gathering was going to happen at about 1:00, penguins didn't know of time, so they went by where the sun was.

"Hurry up Age, the gathering will be soon!" He said down to him. Sic gave the order of four skuas to lift Age up out of his block and then the two walked to the area where Zev and his skua escort were waiting. While walking there, Age asked,

"So you have him?"

"Yes indeed, remember, he's the one who sang with your daughter last night. I'd be careful about what you say to him, but he seems like a nice, caring kid." Sic gave the description of Zev to Age, still young, shed most of his baby down, and he didn't bother going into Zev's voice.

"Huh, sound like he won't be any trouble. But I'll be the judge of that." Age declared to Sic. Sic just shook his head with a smile. Shortly after, the two arrived at the meeting area, and Age raised his eyes at the young chick that stood across from him. He _was_ still very young, and _was_ missing most of his baby down; apparently, his voice was the key to his success. Sic gave the order to force Zev to the center of the area and then asked the skuas to leave, one flew away without question, but the other stopped and asked,

"Are you sure commander?"

"Yes, where are they gonna go?" Sic pointed out gesturing to the ice around them; the skua then nodded and flew off. After it was safe, more or less, Sic walked into the center with Age and Zev, and he was the one who said,

"Age, meet Zev. Zev, I'd like you to meet Age." Sic announced and then backed off for the two to talk. Age was the first to speak.

"So…you're Zev, glad to finally meet you. I've heard a lot about you from Sic over here. And there are a lot of rumors of your voice. They say it's one of the best, you should be proud they exalt you so much." Age opened with. Zev didn't what to say, or who he was talking to.

"Uh…thanks Mr. Age, who are you?" Zev asked.

"Simple, I'm Syrena's father." Age said sternly and crossing his flippers. Zev got petrified the second he heard this. He completely froze in place at the horror he was faced with. He was really talking to Syrena's father? The one penguin he loved more than anyone else and her father was there? What were even the slightest odds of that?

"Uh…I, um…you are…I…she's…uh…" Age felt the same shock Zev did when he first met Hayley, so he came to the boy's rescue.

"I get it Zev, you're fine. I know you sang with her, and everyone says it was one of the best things they had ever heard. You know what that means right?" Age asked Zev. The fact that Age was okay with Zev at the moment calmed him down, so he was able to speak.

"No sir, I'm afraid I don't." Zev whimpered to Age. Age was still in confusion as to why Zev was freaking out about talking to him; all he did was sing with his daughter, what's so wrong about that?

"Where I come from, when two penguins sing together, and they are perfectly matched like everyone says you two were, it means that you're meant to be mates." Age said to Zev with his flippers still crossed. Zev hadn't thought of asking Syrena to be his mate, maybe in the future, but right now he never even considered it, he knew he was far too young.

"And, from nation are you from?" Zev asked, trying to sound polite.

"It doesn't matter, it's gone. An avalanche swept it off the ice, I was lucky to have survived." Zev's eyes grew wide at what Age just said and his beak dropped to the ground.

"Wait what? Did you just say that your nation was destroyed by an avalanche?" Age nodded in confusion. "My Pa said that the nation he came from was ruined by an avalanche disaster. He said that it was on the day his generation was going to show their heartsongs, and after someone named Cold went, and huge avalanche came and obliterated everything!" Age couldn't believe what he was hearing. There were more survivors from his nation!

"What, are you for real?" Age asked in disbelief.

"Yes, yes, it's true after the tragedy, my Pa moved to a different nation with a friend of his. And once they got settled down, he said he met someone named Trixie who was also from the nation." After that Age was getting angry, this chick's Pa was the one who met Hayley after she survived?

"Really?" Age started getting angry.

"Yeah, he and his friend Mark, but everyone called him Bandit, grew up and became really close friends with Trixie. After a while, Bandit even started dating Trixie. At the same time, my Pa said he met my Mama, and the night I was hatched was the night that word came back that Trixie's hideout had collapsed and Bandit was crushed. My Pa was heartbroken when he heard his friend was killed, so much in fact that he and my Mama moved away from the nation and we lived on our own for a long time. But then one day, these horrible monsters came and stole my Mama and Pa, they put these weird tags looking things on their feet and carried them away, my parents hid me, so I was safe, but I haven't seen them since. After I learned to live on my own, one night I was patrolling my hideout, and I heard a loud crashing noise in the distance, after that your daughter Syrena found herself in my encampment, we became really close after that. In the morning, we were taken by skuas here." It all made sense to Age now, Zev is a chick from Age's fallen nation, that's why everyone was infatuated by his and Syrena's singing together. Zev's Pa was a friend of Bandit, and just like Age and Hayley, Zev's Pa and Mama had him early.

This was why Syrena warmed up to Zev so quickly, and this was why Syrena and Zev sounded so perfect together. Then he was let loose after his parents were taken by the aliens, after that he met Syrena. "Oh my gosh…" Age was too overwhelmed by all this information at once. Sic noticed his struggle and stepped in as Age grasped his own head and backed away from Zev.

"Maybe we should take you to the Emperor now, hmm?" Zev just agreed.

"Did I do something wrong?" Zev asked Sic, worried for Age.

"No, you just caught him a lot by surprise, that's all." Sic explained then called for three skuas to bring Age back to his cell. "Escort that emperor back to his cell, he's a bit raddled." The three skuas forced him back the way he came while Sic guided Zev to the Emperor.

It had only be about a half an hour to forty-five minutes since Sic had left to go get Zev, and The Emperor was absolutely exhausting Syrena. The song and dance was almost entirely out of her, she didn't think she could dance another beat or sing another note. "More! Don't you dare stop unless I say!" He demanded of her. She was well wore out,

"I…can't…go any…longer." She wheezed.

"Fine then! You have five minutes!" He yelled, after that he began to eat some of the fish he was sitting on and Syrena retreated to the corner of the room. Sic then shortly arrived with Zev, and once Syrena saw him, all of her tiredness had vanished. She found the sudden strength to run up to him and hug him.

"Zev, oh Zev, I'm so happy to see you!" She said with her flippers wrapped around him. He returned the hug without a second thought.

"I'm relieved to see you too Syrena." Zev exclaimed. The Emperor noticed that the two seemed to have a bond, and thought he'd use it against them.

"Well…look at this!" He thundered from his throne. Both Syrena and Zev stopped their hug and turned to the jerk of a penguin who was talking to them; Sic also turned his gaze to the Emperor. "Seems you've got your song back, sing for me, and dance too, NOW!" He yelled at them. Zev stepped up to protect Syrena.

"And what if we don't?" Zev asked sarcastically, The Emperor just looked left and right at his dozens of skua bodyguards. Zev noticed them too and immediately backed down. Syrena walked up behind him,

"It's okay, I tried them same thing. Nothing works on this guy; we'll have to just do what he wants until the gathering Sic told me about." Syrena explained to him. Zev looked confused at her.

"What happens then?" Zev asked her, he was still in the dark about the plan.

"I'll tell you later." Syrena said to him. Then the two stepped up and asked the royal runt what he wanted to hear.

"So what do you want us to do for you?" Zev rudely asked. The Emperor brushed it off, for he was used to getting snobby comments from his subjects.

"You're lucky you're talented little twerp, or else I'd have you thrown over the side. However, since you two seem to work well together, sing and dance me a love song." The Emperor requested.

Syrena and Zev both loved the other, that was obvious, but singing together for entertainment was just appalling to them. Still, it was a chance to show their love for one another in the best way they knew, by singing their young hearts out. Zev thought of an idea, while he was in his cell, and then he leaned over to Syrena.

"Syrena, I have an idea. And I think it'll suit us." She gave him a smile of satisfaction.

"Whatever it is, do it. I'll help you out anyway I can." Syrena said with a smiled, followed by Zev giving her a smile as well. **(Two is Better Than One-Boys like Girls ft. Taylor Swift)**

Zev knew exactly what he was gonna do, he just wished that Syrena could see how much this was gonna mean to him, even if they were singing to the amusement of this obnoxious penguin.

Zev: _I remember what you wore on the first day_

_You came into my life and I thought_

_Hey, you know this could be something_

Syrena shot Zev a look in awe, and then he continued after he blushed when he noticed.

'_Cause everything you do and words you say_

_You know that it all take my breath away _

_And now I'm left with nothing_

Syrena knew what she was supposed to sing, she didn't know how, but she just felt it.

Both: _So maybe it's true_

_That I can't live without you_

_And maybe two is better than one_

_But there's so much time_

_To figure out the rest of my life_

_And you've already got me coming undone_

_And I'm thinking two is better than one_

It was Syrena's turn to come in and sing what she was feeling and she definitely made Zev feel the same way he made her feel.

Syrena: _I remember every look upon your face_

Zev: _The way you roll your eyes, the way you taste_

_You make it hard for breathing_

Syrena: _'Cause when I close my eyes and drift away_

_I think of you and everything's okay_

_And finally now believing_

The song was filling them both with unspeakable amounts of love and care for them both. Even Erik down in his cell could hear them way up over his head.

Both: _That maybe it's true_

_That I can't live without you_

_And maybe two is better than one_

_But there's so much time_

_To figure out the rest of my life_

_And you've already got me coming undone_

_And I'm thinking two is better than one!_

Zev had the rest set, and he sung it with Syrena like a true couple of their nation should've.

Zev: _And I'm thinking _

Both: _Ohohoh_

_I can't live without you_

_Cause baby two is better than one_

_But there's so much time _

_To figure out the rest of my life_

_But I figured out when all is said and done_

_Two is better than one_

Just like before, they sang the very last line together.

_Two is better than one_

The grin on the Emperor's face was something any penguin that saw it would be terrified of, this wasn't good news for the love that was spawning rapidly in the air.

Syrena and Zev had forgotten after a point that they were in imprisonment, singing against their will, they were so involved and engulfed in the song and their passions towards one another. Only a very unsettling laugh from the Emperor shook them back to reality, and also broke them of their gaze after they sang the last line together. Following the last line, Syrena and Zev locked a very strong gaze, and probably would've kissed had the Emperor not released his ghastly laugh and grin.

"Kids, get back!" Sic warned them, and then they got behind Sic. The cackle from the Emperor continued and was giving all of them the creeps. After he finally finished, he said,

"Amazing, absolutely astounding! In fact, you two have put me in such a good mood that I decree that the Selection will happen early today! Sic, 'round all the prisoners up, this ought to be a good one, don't you agree?" He asked of Sic, but Sic just looked frightened, however he managed to conceal it well enough.

"Indeed sire, of course!" Sic put on his good face, and then he turned around and hurried the little ones out of the room. As they made their flee, Zev was starting to think about what The Emperor had meant by Selection.

"Sic…what did that penguin mean when he said 'The Selection'?" Zev asked in a curiously and worried voice. A single tear came to Sic eye after Zev asked the dreaded question. Sic had managed to conceal his tear from the other wardens going through, and once they were walking down the blocks to Age and Erik's stall, where they were no guards or any nearby skuas, Sic answered his question with,

"I fear the Selection is a very dangerous thing around here. Every month The Emperor rounds up all the prisoners into a single room at the top of this fortress, and they all preform for their lives for him. And the unlucky ones who, in his eyes, don't have enough talent, are tragically thrown off the side of the ice. There's always a specific number who never make it, and that number…is two." Sic said while starting to cry as he thought of all the helpless souls he's seen lose their lives for no good reason.

Syrena and Zev began to worry in unison, they were two, and so were Age and Erik! "Wait, so you mean that only two prisoners ever get thrown over at a time or per Selection?" Zev frantically asked.

"Per Selection young Zev, once a month, two are gone, regardless of what they can do, it's sad."

"Well then we have to make sure that none of us are the targets. Sic you are already good because you're second in command around here and…" Syrena began, but was interrupted by Sic.

"If only…" Both Syrena and Zev shot him a look that said 'What are you talking about?'. "Oh little ones, even though I live and work here as a warden and as the second highest guy around, I too still must sing and dance to save my life every month; I'm actually amazed that I've lasted as long as I have." Syrena grasped Sic's flipper and smiled up to him.

"Don't worry, we'll all be fine. I can feel it, it's a performer intuition." Syrena said to Sic in a warm comforting way. Sic seemed to feel better, and Zev realized he felt the same thing, after that he started to think back to what Age had said. Maybe he was meant to be with Syrena, but something told him it was still too early to guess.

To appeal to the eye of the many skuas that had recently begun circling the block, Sic hurried Syrena and Zev back to Erik and Age's cell, but by a stroke of bad luck, once they arrived, Age was not in the cell with Erik. Syrena was worrying tremendously, I mean, how would you feel if your Pa was in a prison and was missing, not a good thing right? Erik heard the footsteps as they approached, and as they stopped he turned his beak in their direction.

"Syrena, Sic, you made it back!" He announced happily to them, then he looked at Zev, "And you must be the infamous Zev I've heard about." Erik said with a stern grin. Zev just nodded his head to show respect. "Welcome to the family buddy." Zev smiled at what Erik said. Sic just coughed and interrupted,

"Erik, where's Age? I haven't seen him since his meeting with Zev here. I thought he was escorted back?" Sic asked Erik down below; but Erik just nodded his head.

"He was, but some Emperor came and snatched him up a short while ago, said he was taking him to some rally. He was really flabby, and had the biggest patrol I've seen on anyone so far." Sic's eyes widened in horror, it was The Emperor.

"We got to get to that Selection right now!" Sic commanded, and then he bent over and reached out for Erik's flipper. Erik grabbed ahold of it, and Syrena and Zev hauled along as well. It seemed as though they were strong enough to get Erik out, when a sudden and terrifying caw from a skua swooped down on the four. Syrena was gripped with fear, and Erik was stunned, but somehow, the skua grabbed Erik's back and gave him the final shove he needed to escape from the ice hole. After Erik was helped up, they all turned to the skua and all he said was,

"You're welcome, I'll catch up with you later…" it said and then dashed off into the sky.

(With Jake)

It'd only been a number of hours since the accident with Nicki and the other kids, and Jake was being pushed beyond belief to brave the harsh blizzard that was pounding against his young feathers. The cold was like a piercing knife, cutting right through his defenses against the cold, but still he continued to think about everyone who was trapped, they were all counting on him. There was no one to be seen, the snow flying into his face made it very hard to see more than a few feet in front of him, but still there was no one there. For miles around, he guessed, there was no one, he was all alone, and he had to endure, if there was to be any hope for his family and friends. As the footsteps behind him began to grow softer and lighter in the snow, soon he found that he was lying face down in the snow. Frozen on the outside and dying on the inside; his young body could stand no more of the weather and the cold. Ice, sleet, rain, it all came down on the poor chick, and still there was no one to come to his aid.

_It's over…I failed…I'm sorry…everyone…I failed…I failed…I failed…_

He thought to himself as he rolled over and when unconscious for the first time not out of fright, but out of fatigue. Minutes passed and the little birds stay where he was, face down in the snow, all alone and nothing to get him back on his feet. The corners of his mind sworn that they had heard a voice in the distant calling his name, and after a point, his eyes open up just enough to see a shadow in the distance, a shadow of something, he couldn't tell what, and before he closed his dreary eyes once more, all he heard was a single word,

"Jake…?" And he was frozen to sleep.

(Back in the hideout as The Selection begins)

Syrena was racing alongside Zev, Erik, and Sic to the top of the hideaway, forming into a neat line whenever they passed other prisoners or guards. Everyone was wondering about the strange and spontaneous skua that had aided them unexpectedly. Out of nowhere the skua helped Erik out of his cell and then raced off. No one was sure of what it meant, but everyone knew that without it, they wouldn't have made the incredible progress that they had. Nearly to the top, Sic pulled everyone off to the side, as they were rounding about to the top.

"Now listen, since this ice isn't strong enough to hold everyone here at one spot all at once, they're gonna instruct me to take you guys to certain areas, when that happened, just play along with whatever I do." They nodded and Sic escorted them around the corner. Around it, were dozens of different kinds of birds, penguins and skuas alike. So many different, sizes, shapes, colors, but the group was baffled by a sudden guard from behind them.

"Ah, sir…" A skua said to Sic, then he turned to face the skua, "You can come with me, these prisoners are assigned to that section over there." He said and pointed with his wing. Sic just shook his head,

"I'm to remain with these ones, Emperor's orders; he says they're a heartfelt bunch." Sic stated in his command voice he had perfected over the time he spend here as Second-In-Command. The skua just scratched his head with his wing.

"Well then you'll need some help with that," He said and turned to a nearby skua and was about to say something. And then suddenly, the skua from before flew in and aided them once again.

"I'll be in charge of that sir." It said. The head skua nodded and flew off with a few others, then the friendly skua looked at the four, it was clearly a woman. "You're looking for your father, aren't you kid?" She said looking down at Syrena, she nodded, and the skua smiled "Well then, follow me." She said and took off, the group followed with resistance and they were lead to a box seat above where the Emperor's pile of food and ice was. Upon the icy mess, was a penguin, The Emperor, and next to him, was Age.

Age looked as though he'd been beaten up, thrown on the ground, and then picked at by dozens of hungry skuas. He had managed to fend most off, for he wasn't bleeding that badly, but he still had some bad cuts and tears across his feathers and flippers. "Pa!" Syrena yelled down to him, and in hearing this, Age looked up at where all of them were. He then smiled and nodded his head to the skua, to which she flew down to him.

"As you asked sir; they're here and they're safe. What's our next move?" Age had asked this skua to be on his side when he was on his way back from meeting Zev, she was amongst the skuas flying overhead when he started trying to fight against his escort. She swooped down at the time and knocked one over the edged while Age pushed over another. After the brief fight, Age asked why she did what she did, to which she had responded, _I'm a lone bird, so long as you got me, I ain't gonna let you become a lone penguin. _After that, the two worked out a plan to get everyone where they needed to be during the selection, so that when the time came, they could escape.

There was a perfect plan running through Age's mind, the skua had revealed that she too had been longing for a chance to escape, and that she'd been able to fully observe the ice around the fort to notice that there was a weak link in the bottom. So weak in fact, that if it was the only thing to move, the whole fort would toppled to its side. Age and the skua never found out each other's names, but they had promised to tell them if they got away. Back to what she had asked, Age knew the plan, Sic, Zev, Erik, and Syrena didn't, and they didn't know for a reason.

"Watch over them, and be ready to fly. Also…tell Sic to get down here, he'll be needed." Age said with fire burning in his eyes. She then flew up and told Sic to get back down there, and then she landed next to Erik and nodded in approval, after that, the four of them waited. Sic hurried down to Age's side next to the Emperor.

"I hope you have a plan Age, cause by this point, I got nothing. And who's that skua?" Age just smiled and said,

"Just stand by…"

After that, The Selection began, for hours, tons of penguins got up in front of The Emperor and Age. Somehow, Age had been recruited by the Emperor to judge them on their skills, to see if they were fit to remain alive. Age dismissed many penguins, forcing them to get thrown over the edge. Syrena watched in horror, as did Zev, Erik, Sic, and their skua friend as he did this penguin after penguin. Sic looked in Age's eyes after every penguin, and he could tell Age was dying from being this way, but Sic just hoped that this was part of the plan. Soon enough, there were barely any penguin that had yet to be judged, for every penguin that appeared to have been good enough and survived Age's judgment, four or five were pushed off. Deep within himself, Age hated what he was doing, but he saw the looks in their eyes as each one came up to be judged; they wanted it to all end. After there were no penguins left to judge, Age himself stepped in front of the Emperor, and commanded,

"There is more to be done, my lord," Trying to hold in his disgust from speaking to another penguin this way. The Emperor was confused, "I mean, that the guards, and myself of course have yet to be judged, I don't think they should be let off the hook." The Emperor raised an eyebrow, and then nodded, even though the guards weren't supposed to sing or dance, Age seemed to use his con skills to convince the Emperor that what he was doing was the right thing, make sure he had the best guards is what he called it. Soon, Age himself returned back to the Emperor front and said, "I have yet to be judged myself, I am not letting myself off that easily." Age winked at Sic, and Sic joined him at his side. "Please tell me you know how to dance?" Age whispered to Sic, and he nodded. **(Just Hold On-Zircon)**

Age begun, he was going to keep it short, his plan was almost complete.

Age: _In the sea of night, when the soul is real_

_Broken visions let the darkness heal_

_And the dream of life with surely resign_

Age glanced at Sic to pick it up, Sic had no idea of what to do, so instead he just sang the first thing that came to his mind.

Sic: _I can hear your heart, I can touch your skin_

_Feel the whole breathing from within_

_I can live here forever inside_

Age gave Sic and strange look at what he just sang, but Sic just shrugged his shoulders, and then Age winked up at the skua. After that, she grabbed Syrena and flew her down and dropped her in front of Age, and then he leaned down to her and said, "Play along sweetie…"

Syrena: _Just hold on_

_To everything I know I need this_

_Just hold on _

_To only place where reality survives_

Her voice rang through the keep as it had the night the night before, and everyone who remained was touched deeply by it, just like before.

As short as the song may have been, the three of them were in the clear. But Syrena wasn't completely clear, in fact, she was probably in the most trouble. The Emperor clapped very slowly, with a very evil smile on his face, this worried every in the group.

"Perfect…as always my dear." He said moving slowly down off his pile. "Seems as though you know how to steal the show, and the affections of everyone, even myself." He said getting closer to her. Syrena backed up behind her Pa and began to shake with fear. She was holding on tightly to his leg, and Age just put his flipper on her, trying to comfort her. "I'd like you to get a little older, I'm sure you'd have a much more beautiful voice." After that, he stopped, and looked around to the few penguins that were left, "Everyone, we've suffered greatly today. Many prisoners were deemed unfit to take up space here, and I was enlightened on the poor quality of some of my guards, but…in all of it, I found…my future mate." Age and Syrena's eyes spread from edge to edge in nothing but shear petrification, and after that, just yelled to his skua friend,

"NOW!" Then Age threw himself up against the Emperor and knocked him over. The skua dove over the edge of ice and swooped far below, she rammed through a thin ice column, and the whole fort began to shake and turn. The Emperor look up from his dazed state after Age hit him, and he noticed that the keep was beginning to fall. "Get Zev and Syrena!" Age yelled to the skua, and then she grabbed them in her feet and flew off to a safe distance. "Erik, Sic this way!" Age commanded, Erik slid down to Age and Sic, and then all three of them started to race down the side of the toppling prison.

The path leading to the ground was being crushed by the weight of the columns collapsing on it. The three darted off the side and fell a few feet onto another slide. They continued to hurry down the side, but they were once again cut off. Having no other way to go the three scurried back up to the top; Age had noticed that the Emperor was gone.

"Sic, any ideas?" Age asked in a loud voice, trying to make Sic hear him over the crumbling of the ice around them. The ice was still falling slowly, but the minute the foundation broke, the whole would topple over at impossible to escape from speeds.

"Sadly, just one…" Sic said, and Age and Erik looked at him. Just then, they heard a loud crack, and the ice shuddered. The ice fell at gravity pulling speed, and they were racing towards the ground, still atop the base. The ground was level and it was coming nearby, they might have had a chance to make it onto the safe ground if they could manage to,

"JUMP!" Sic screamed, and the three hurled themselves onto the level ice. Age covered his head as he heard the crash of the fort in the ice behind them, and after there was silence, he got up and looked back over the edge. Erik came up behind him, and said as he looked over what used to be the prison,

"Once again, we broke the ice, and someone died." Age just shook his head.

"No died that didn't want to, but I feel sorry for them anyway. Even that miserable excuse for an Emperor; wanting my daughter as a mate, he sickens me." Age gruffed and sneered. The two help Sic get up and walked back to where they saw the skua carrying their friends. She landed and handed them back over to Age.

"Safe and sound, again." She said and bowed. Age smiled at her,

"Now, as you wished, my name is Age, this is Erik, my brother. My daughter Syrena, her boyfriend Zev…" He said and gave the little couple a wink, Syrena just giggled and started holding flippers with Zev, who returned the embrace, "And our new friend, Sic." Sic saluted her, and then continued the converse himself.

"You have my thanks miss. I've seen you before, but I don't know your name. But seeing as how you helped up take down that place, you are clearly on our side." Sic said.

"I've seen you around too, but I never knew your name was Sic, every single time I saw you, the called you Sir, or Second-In-Command." She laughed, "But a promise is a promise, Age, I…am Marilyn, but everyone calls me…Mary." She announced with a smile.

"And…I'm…C.J…." A voice said behind them. They all turned around to see The Emperor, he was bleeding very badly, and collapsed like his former prisoner. Syrena ran over to him, and so did Zev.

"Kids, stay away from him, he's a monster!" Erik yelled at them, but Age put his flipper out in front of him.

"Wait…" Then everyone moved over to him, the looked over The Emperor's unconscious body, but there was something familiar about him. "Zev, is there something familiar about this penguin?" Since Age and Zev were from the same nation, they might be able to tell if it was the same kind of penguin as they were.

"I don't know, it sure feels that way." He chuckled softly, "He makes me think of my Uncle. He was always pretending to be a leader, bossing people around." Age got curious,

"What was his name?"

"His name was C.J. just like this penguin…" And then it hit both of them, "C.J., Uncle C.J. is that you?" Zev shouted to the still penguin. Syrena suddenly got absolutely furious.

"You know him? You're related to a monster like that! How could you be!" She yelled at Zev.

"Syrena…I…" Zev tried to think of something to say. But she stormed off, and sat down a few yards away and pouted with her flippers crossed. "Syrena please, I…"

"Be quiet Zev, I don't wanna talk to you! And to think, I was…I was starting to think that…that maybe you were the one for me! My Pa told me you know when you're in love, and I felt it around you! But not if you're gonna turn into that!" She screamed pointing at his the penguin that could've been his Uncle.

With Age baffled by the situation, Erik stunned by the fight between Syrena and Zev, Mary not knowing exactly what was going on, and Sic getting ready to beat whatever life was left in the Emperor, they needed some outside help, they needed their family.

**So I know this was long, and I only talked about Syrena, Zev, Age, and Erik. But keep in mind the story with the others was already resolved, except for Jake. Don't worry, promise no one will die in this, I can't make that happen. Jake is going to be in the next chapter, and hopefully the next will be the last. I really wanna start working on "Better Than This". And I'm still asking, who do you think is better? Age/Hayley or Syrena/Zev? I don't care what you think; I'd just like to see what your answer would be.**


	7. If I Never Knew You

**Syrena and Zev have gotten into a fight over his family. Age, Sic, Erik, and Mary don't know what to do or where to go. C.J. is apparently one of them because he's related to Zev. Mumble, Bo, Gloria, Hayley, Atticus, Ramon, and Carmon are out looking for the others. And of course, Nicki, Gab, and Kourtney are trapped and Jake has to brave the storm to free them, but he's gone unconscious from the cold. Geez, I wonder how this'll end. I'm for real, this shall be the final chapter of this story, and there will be an epilogue. For now, enjoy this final chapter of "Family Bonds of a Different Kind"! I loved working on it! **

Family Bonds of a Different Kind

Chapter 6

If I Never Knew You

Syrena was crying her eyes out at what had happened between her and Zev. She had always thought that when you were truly in love that you'd never fight, because you were perfect for each other. What little Syrena didn't know is that every couple, no matter how perfect, always would have arguments and fights. But what made a couple truly meant for each other was the ability to be able to work it out and stay down to the ice. Syrena confessed to herself that she had acted harshly shortly after wadding away from Zev, but at the same time, her instincts as a woman wouldn't let her be the one to try and speak first.

_I know I barely know him, but…he's everything. My whole world, my heart, my other half, everything and more. Zev is more than just the penguin, he's _my _penguin. He's not perfect, but my Pa said you know when you're in love, and he's right. I love Zev, I know I do. _

She may not have said it first, but she knew it with all her heart. Zev on the other hand was immediately blaming it all on himself and his family. When a man loves a woman, the man is for some reason always the one who chooses the things he did wrong; Zev and his little family wasn't an exception. He knew that Syrena meant the ice to him, and that he'd do anything to prove it, just like Age had done to Hayley, and Zev thought hard. In the end, Zev knew that if Syrena truly loved him, she'd come around, and so would he, but the issue was that, both of the two couldn't bring themselves to make the first move to apologize.

Meanwhile, Age was surveying the and soon he couldn't stand the lack of action any longer. There were three adult penguins with no clue where to go, a wayward skua, two stubborn little chicks, and an unconscious penguin out like the winter sun on the ground. It was more than enough for Age, if that.

"Mary, go fly around a little, see if you can't find any other penguins. Actually, any creature will do." Age ordered Mary. She saluted and darted off into the cold beyond. Mary was a warden bird, she had grown accustom to being spoken to this way, so it felt weird not to, it was for her sake. Age was in no way being rude to her. "Erik, Sic, I'll need help dragging the jerk around, but before we go anywhere, we've gotta get _that _worked out." He said and pointed to Syrena and Zev. Erik nodded and grabbed Age's shoulder and pulled him aside.

"Okay we'll do that, but just one question…how?" Erik asked knowing fully well Age didn't have an answer. Age gave Erik a rude look in return to his snood comment, and responded,

"If she's like her mother, she'll be easy to talk to." Age said and pulled away from his brother. Then he walked over to Syrena and tried to talk to her. "Sweetie, does what his family is like really determine what he'll be like?" Age asked. Syrena was whimpering, she already knew what she did wrong.

"I already know that Pa, I'm just scared to tell him. After the way I acted over something stupid, why would he talk to me?" She cried and tucked her face into her flippers in shame. Age then turned around and walked over to Zev, trying to attempt this from a different angle.

"Zev…?" Age began, but Zev was pouting over himself. "You know your family has nothing to do with you, you know?" Age pointed out.

"I know Mr. Age, but she's right. What if I become like him? If I did, I'd never be worthy to be the mate someone like her. Her voice, her knowledge, she's perfect in every way. I can't think of a single flaw of her." Zev said drooping his head.

"Uh…I…hang on a minute." Age said and waddled back to Erik and Sic. "This'll be a little bit harder than I thought it would." Age said in confusion to his buddies.

Suddenly, C.J. began to stir and groan. Syrena and Zev didn't hear, so it was just the three nearby that started to panic. Age halted them after a moment, and then stood over C.J. and leaned just below his eyes, that way, when his eyes were completely open, Age's shadow would be right below his eyes. In doing that, C.J. would hear Age, and see his figure, but not see his face because of the sun. C.J. squinted and exhaled a few breaths and then covered his eyes with his flipper, but he left enough to see that there was a silhouette of a penguin looming over him.

"Who are you?" He asked; his big, top notch Emperor Voice seemed like it disappeared.

"I'm the one who is responsible for you being where you are now. How does it feel?" Age asked him, in an equally serious voice.

"What are you talking about? I don't even know where I am? The last thing I remember was getting thrown off of a boat with some freaking tag on my foot." He said and looked down to his foot. "Oh, it's gone, imagine that." C.J. said curiously. If Age had eyebrows, they probably would've been raised.

"You don't remember anything? Not even your nephew, Zev?" As Age said the name, C.J.'s eyes lit up and his voice had a sudden spike in it.

"Zev, my little Zev? He's okay, where is he?" C.J. asked. Age just pointed over to Zev which was a few meters away, just out of hearing distance. C.J. just totally sprang up into a jolly good mood, and dashed towards Zev. Before he got there, Erik turned to Age.

"I think he's toying with us." Erik said and turned away. Age just shook his head,

"I don't think so. I think the shock and the bump on his head he got just gave him selective memory loss. If he is toying with us, I think he would've made a run for it by now." Age analyzed.

"I don't trust him bro." Erik asserted. Age shot his a mean look.

"You forget where I come from dude. My people are all about forgiveness and new beginnings; I say we let him have it. I think he just got too power hungry, and that penguin he was got left behind, but the impact knocked him back to reality." Erik didn't seem convinced, but Age did teach him to believe in new beginnings.

"Alright, fine; if he gets outta line, I'm taking him down myself." Erik stated, Age just laughed.

C.J. was thrilled to see Zev, and what Age didn't know was that he really was having a huge clump of memory loss from the blow to his head when he fell. His mind had gone back to when he was thrown back out onto the ice because he'd been tagged. Regardless, C.J. was truly Zev's Uncle, and he was in for a very interest family reunion.

"Zev, you're okay! I'm so jumpy to see you!" C.J. shouted and scooped Zev up in his flippers and spun him round. Zev wasn't enjoying the embrace, and pushed out of it and walked off a little. "Zev? What's the matter? Aren't you excited to see your Crazy Uncle C.J.?" He was right, he had been Zev goofy Uncle that he jumped at the chance to visit.

"Am I? You said you'd take Syrena as your future mate! That's completely disgusting, you should be ashamed, you know she loves me!" Zev yelled, and Syrena heard it. She turned around and saw who he was talking to.

"I did what? I don't understand Zev, what happened?" C.J. asked his nephew.

"Just forget it, Uncle C.J., I don't wanna talk to you right now." Zev declared and walked away. But a sweet little voice stopped him.

"Zev…no. He's being sincere, he really doesn't know." Syrena said calmly to Zev.

"How could I possibly believe that? You saw everything that he did to us, The Selection, the jail; him saying you'd be his mate one day!" Zev continued to list the malicious things that had happened to them in the prison. As the list went on, C.J. began to feel weird, and then he realized, he was getting his memory back.

He had a flashback of his founding of the prison by being kind and gentle, giving people sanctuary in and on his home. Then after a while, they performed for him to show their gratitude. Soon, more and more creatures came to his home, almost like a casino or a hotel. Then as he grew more and more powerful he began to treat people like garbage and soon threw everyone who wasn't good enough for him in cells found across the ice fort. Soon, after the hang out was dubbed and prison, he snatched everyone up who crossed his paths and used them for his own enjoyment. "Oh no…Zev…I…" He stuttered as he recalled everything. Zev just huffed and turned away. C.J. felt terrible and sunk to his knees and cried miserably. But then he stopped all of a sudden, and turned his gaze towards Syrena, and his idea light bulb went off.

"Zev…I know what I did was, disgusting. But think about it buddy, look what it made you do." Zev didn't move, but Syrena seemed interested. "You held on with both flippers to see through that the right thing was done. And you did everything penguinly-possible to ensure that Syrena here was okay…" He nudged Syrena over to Zev and she wound up falling into his flippers as he turned around. "…and safe in your flippers." C.J. concluded.

Zev just smiled at Syrena, and she to him, everything was okay between them now. Age and the other could tell because they hugged for a while, and Erik even thought he heard them whisper,

"I love you Zev…"

"I love you too Syrena, always." Age then walked up to C.J. and nodded his head.

"Thanks, seems you're not so bad a penguin after all." Age said and smiled warmly. C.J. smiled back and asked one last question.

"Could I possibly come with you guys? It's obvious that Zev isn't going anywhere without Syrena, so since you guys knocked down my home, I think I'd be best if I just tagged along." Erik cam right up behind Age, and Sic was to follow.

"I don't trust him, even though I believe in second chances." Erik mumbled under his breath.

"Let's just bring him; I'll keep an eye on him. It's what I've done the whole time since I've known him." Sic confessed to. C.J. nodded at Sic's statement.

"Alright, C.J., welcome to the caravan and our destination… Adelie Land." Age announced to C.J.; and just then, Mary came flying back, looking like she was extremely pumped up. But she did notice C.J. was up.

"Hey I…why you!" She flew at him, but Age stopped her.

"He's cool, what do you have for us Mary?" He asked.

"I saw a group of penguins on the other side of the ridge, following some narrow path through the mountains, if we hurry we can catch them." Mary yelled in delight and excitement.

"Well then let's go!" Zev spoke up, with Syrena still in his flippers.

Then the whole group, Age, Erik, Sic, C.J., Mary, Syrena, and Zev moved out towards the mountains, hoping that who they were headed towards was their families and new found friends. But Zev didn't care as long as he had Syrena, he'd be home anywhere, and she felt the same way.

(With Mumble's group)

"Where did you say you found him?" Mumble asked Hayley.

Yes, Hayley had been the one to find Jake half froze in the middle of an ice field deep in the mountains. "Well like I said, when we were walking through ice field, I was talking to Bo about how worried we were about our kids, and all of a sudden, I see this little black dot in the distance. So I took Bo and Gloria over with me to go check it out, and turns out, it was Jake!" Hayley explained to Mumble. As thrilled as Mumble was to see one of his sons safe and somewhat sound, for he was still unconscious from the cold, he was still on edge for his other two boys.  
>"Well, if Jake is here, then I suppose that would mean that Nicki and the other kids aren't too far away right?" Mumble asked aloud, and Atticus answered.<p>

"Yep, it be true. I saw Nicki retreat with the kids before we got driven off. They had to slide down a hill or something with an avalanche following them." Atticus recalled to everyone in the group.

Mumble took the thought into consideration, and thought about what he should do. If Jake was here, Nicki and the kids had to be close by, but if Jake was all alone, they'd abandon the chances of finding Age and Erik, or at the moment anyway. Mumble couldn't seem to make up his mind; both options would save and hurt in their respective ways. "Well that's just great, what am I supposed to do? If we let Jake show us the way, we could find our chicks, and Atticus, you could find your mate. On the other flipper, if we keep going this way towards the shore, we could find our Age and Erik." The whole group was baffled by the choice, except Atticus of course.

"What are crazy Uncle Mumble? We be goin' dat way, no if's or and's about it!" Atticus exclaimed. Everyone seemed to be in favor of the decision, because at least if they followed Jake, they knew where they were going. The only thing was, they were all somewhat scared to admit it.

"Atticus, I think that..." Bo began to try and soften his tensions, but Hayley and Gloria shushed them all.

"Shhh! It's Jake, I think he's waking up." Gloria announced. The whole group came over and watched little Jake open his eyes. Jake couldn't see anything, it was all blurry. His beak felt like it was frozen to the tip, and he couldn't move his flippers, or his feet for that matter. As the light from the sun began to let him see the outlines of several penguins looking at him, he heard a familiar voice, which was something he didn't expect in the least. "Jake...?" It was a soft, warm voice that to Jake, could only belong to his mother.

"Ma...ma...Mama?" He managed to say.

"Jake! Oh Jake, you're okay!" Gloria exclaimed and picked up her boy in her flippers and hugged his tight. The warmth of the embrace gave him good chills that heated him up one two three.

"Mama…Mama…Mama, Pa, you're here too!" Jake whimpered to his parents. Mumble sprang over to his son and the three family members all hugged, so much that it made the other penguins jealous and heartbroken. "You all have to come this way!" Jake exclaimed pulling out of the embrace. He started heading off into a direction way off course from where they were going. Mumble smiled slightly, and then said

"So he does know where, I thought so! This way everyone!" Mumble gestured for everyone to follow him, and indeed everyone did, but Hayley and Bo weren't so happy about it.

"Mumble…" Peeped Bo, and Mumble turned around and looked at her. "What if Erik and Age are nearby, and we miss them?"

"That's an 'if' possibility Bo. It pains me as much as you to know that my sons are out there, but if definitely know where to find Nicki and the other chicks thanks to Jake, that's an opportunity we can't pass up. I'm so sorry Bo, but we gotta go help them." Mumble grieved to Bo, then bowed away after Jake.

"Bo…" Hayley whispered to her. "Why don't we just stand back and let them help Nicki, we'll get Age and Erik. Not only that, but we haven't even found Syrena yet. I'm sure she got split up from everyone." Hayley proposed to Bo. The idea seemed cunning, but Bo tensely accepted and just stayed back while they watched Mumble, Gloria, Atticus, and Jake fly off into the distance. Ramon and Carmon were awfully quiet the whole time, but since the ruckus was over, Ramon found a place to speak.

"I think that we should do what's better for the hijos. If Fluffito The Second says there's a chance of finding the hijos that way, then we shall go with you guys, wherever that may be. If you wish to go this way, then I, and hopefully my Carmon…" He said winking to her, and she nodded, "Shall go with you instead."

Hayley just simply smiled at her gratitude towards Ramon and Carmon for their support. "Thanks…amigos." Hey, she had to of learned some Spanish from Ramon and the others.

So the four of them remained steadfast, and it was an extraordinary choice indeed; over the peaks of the snowcapped mountains in the distance, sprung a small black dot. Bo noticed it first, and as it drew closer and closer, she found it to be a skua. What none of them knew was, it was Mary. She had been combing all the paths and ice fields looking for the other penguins, and you can only imagine her face when she saw these four. She wasted no time in swooping down to speak with them, but they back off in fright, after all, she was a skua.

"Oh no, no, it's okay! I'm a friend, I swear!" Mary exclaimed at the stunned group. Bo remembered her encounters with skuas in the past, and knew that they were no good.

"Ha, like I believe that! There's no way someone like you could possibly be on our side!" Bo yelled at Mary.

"No, I'm for real! And I'll prove it!" Mary said frantically.

"Oh yeah, how?" Hayley said crossing her flippers.

"Simple…Hayley." She said to her, and everyone was instantly interested, "Are you guys looking for two penguins? Age and…uh, oh yeah, Erik?" Mary asked them all.

Bo was ecstatic about what she just said. "You know where they are?" Bo asked hyperactively.

"Yes, and Syrena is with them!"

"Syrena too?" Hayley exclaimed.

"Uh-huh, and so is Zev! And Sic, plus C.J. is there too!" Bo and Hayley's excitement died down at the two new names.

"Zev, Sic, C.J., who are they?" Bo asked first.

"Oh, you don't know them? Sic is the one who, along with myself, helped Erik, Age, Syrena, and Zev escape from The Emperor's prison. But after we got out, they whole thing collapsed, and The Emperor got his memory knocked out of him. And when he woke up, we found out he was Zev's Uncle." Mary told the story to them. But the four listeners still didn't know who Zev was.

"Pardon me Senorita…" Interrupted Ramon, "But I still don't know who Zev is." And everyone nodded in agreement.

"Oh…I'm sorry, I could've sworn you'd know him. He's the really young penguin from Age's nation, he's Syrena's boyfriend, and from what I know…" Mary told and looked at Hayley, "Syrena is your daughter right?" Hayley didn't care; boyfriend?

"He's from our nation, and he's her boyfriend?" This, to Hayley, was when it started sounding far-fetched.

"Yep, and they're just over that mountain coming this way! Stay right here, don't move, I'll go get them!" Mary commanded and started to fly off, but Carmon stopped her.

"Wait Senorita!" Carmon yelled to her, and Mary turned around. "We have a friend who's hurt in the pass over there!" She said and pointed down the path Mumble and the other's had gone. "Once you tell them where we are, fly to Adelie Land and send for Sven. He's a friend of ours and bring him here." Instructed Carmon.

"Sven, that's the name?" Mary asked just to be sure.

"Si…now go hurry, please!" Carmon begged, and Mary dashed off back the way she came.

After Mary was gone from sight, Bo turned to Hayley and asked. "You think we can trust her?" But Hayley was certain of her choice.

"She's gotta be lying about a thing or two, but if she says she know where Age is, I'm not gonna take any chances." Bo seemed to approve, but still wasn't one-hundred percent sure.

(With Age's group)

The path nearby was extremely narrow, but everyone managed to squeeze through. Even C.J., and he was a bit on the chubby side, but nonetheless the group found that once they got through the path, they were in fact nearing the top of the mountain. All that was needed was to do a roundabout around the peak and begin sledding down the other side. Once they carefully crept their way to the other side, Mary spotted them, and called out before they began their decent.

"Age, I found them!" Mary called. Age looked up and couldn't believe what he just heard.

"You found them? You really found them?" Age begged to know.

"You found my Mama?" Syrena peeped from below. Mary just nodded 'yes' to all of their questions.

"Yup, I found Hayley, another adult Emperor penguin, I think it was Bo. And there were two really short ones too, they had funny accents." Mary explained.

"That must be Ramon and Carmon!" Erik exclaimed to everyone.

"I guess, they're all the way down there, they said they wouldn't move." Mary said, landing on the ground and pointing the way with her wing.

"But…you said there was more than that?" Zev spoke up to Age. Age then noticed he was right, Mary only found four of them.

"Where was everyone else?" Age asked Mary.

"They said a friend of their got hurt down a narrow passage. That the other went to help her, and the four I found stayed behind to see if they could find you guys, or that's what I think, they didn't tell me." Mary was exactly right with her assumptions. "And the one you call, Carmon, sent me to Adelie Land to get someone named Sven. She said he could help with assisting your friend." Mary finished.

"Well then go! Go get Sven; if it's as dire as it sounds then we need him! Bring him back here as fast as you can! He's a puffin, don't worry about him having to walk just show him the way. Adelie land is that way." Erik directed to Mary. And she nodded her head,

"I know where Adelie Land is Erik. I've been there before." Mary commented and took off.

"Sorry about that!" Erik yelled to her as she flew away.

"Come on, what are we waiting for?" Age decreed and jumped on his belly and slid down the mountain side.

Zev and Syrena joined flippers, and laughed all the way down, never once letting go while they slid together. Sic and C.J. clearly didn't belly sled very much, Erik kept bumping into them on his way down. But soon enough, everyone was safely, and properly, at the foot of the peak and now the only thing standing between them and a few of their family members was a thick plain of ice.

"Hayley! Hayley!" Age yelled to her.

Hayley and the other had kept their promise and didn't move, and when she heard this, she thought she was hallucinating. Again, she heard her name being called, and then 'Bo!' was heard off in the direction of the mountain. And after another minute, several black dots appeared in the distance. Everyone began smiling and crying, yelling one another's names as everyone raced towards the other. As Age drew closer to Hayley with Syrena and Zev by his side, the world just slowed down, and when he finally felt Hayley jump into his flippers, he just never thought it would feel this good. He held her very tightly and spun her around just never wanting to put her down. After he did however, Hayley kissed him so deeply that even Syrena went, 'Eww!' and looked away giggling with Zev. Erik and Bo had a similarly touching reunion, involving a kiss hug, and just staring at one another.

"Age…it's you, I can't want to believe it so much, it's really you!" Hayley cried and put her flipper around him. Age didn't return anything except the hug, and began to release a few tears of his own. "I never gave up hope seeing you again, I knew you'd make it!" Hayley whispered to him. Then he pulled away and gazed right into her eyes.

"Hayley, there's a few penguin I want you to meet…" By this point, Ramon and Carmon already met and introduced themselves to C.J., Sic, and Zev, the girl were too busy hugging their guys to do so. So Age brought Hayley to Sic first, "Hayley, this is Sic, he helped us escape the prison." Hayley shook his flipper, and he bowed in respect to her. Then Age brought her over to C.J., "Hayley, this is C.J., he owned the prison after he was driven to madness after he got power hungry. But a fall knocked him back to his senses, he's also Zev's Uncle." Age explained.

"Who's this Zev I'm hearing so much about? The skua even said something about him." Hayley asked.

"So then you've already met Mary. Hayley…" He said one last time, "Meet Zev…" He said and turned her towards the little penguin holding Syrena's flipper. Hayley thought they looked adorable together, and she now knew that this must've been the penguin she dreamed of back on the ice. Zev then walked up to her, and tried to be as formal as possible.

"Hello Mrs. Hayley, I'm Zev. I really do care about Syrena, and I hope you're okay with that." Zev sounded as nervous as he did when he met Age, but he seemed like a nice, clever, innocent little penguin.

"I most certainly am Zev, welcome to the family." She knelt down to him, and gave him a hug. Syrena then squealed with happiness and jumped on Zev, knocking him over and causing both of them to laugh uncontrollably. Age and Hayley just stared at the little lovers laugh on the ice, and then Hayley whispered to Age,

"So he's from our nation?" Age nodded, "So does that mean he's the one who's meant to be with Syrena?" Age just shrugged his shoulders.

"Sure seems that way. They laugh, they play, they work together, and from what I've heard from Sic and C.J. over here, they sound better singing together than we do." Age explained. Hayley looked at Sic and C.J., and they both nodded.

"He's not kidding miss, when she sung; I was about ready to cry. And when they sung together, I didn't want it to end it sounded that phenomenal." C.J. confessed to Hayley. She just smiled and watched the chicks continue to play.

Just then, two more voices joined the party. "Here as requested Age!" Everyone turned around, it was Sven, and Mary was hovering nearby. "How is everyone, because Sven is doing just dandy!" Sven said happily.

"We, are doing fine, but a friend needs help…Hayley which way did you say they went?" Age asked her. She then pointed down the ice way she saw Jake lead them down.

"That's the one, right Bo?" She asked her. Bo just gestured for everyone to follow, and the birds overhead took off ahead of everyone. "Hopefully were not too late." Hayley said aloud.

Meanwhile, in the back ways, the whole other group had been trying to think of ways to get Nicki and the kids out of the stone trap. The distant reunion between everyone was short lived by asking how they were, saying if their okay, and how glad they were to see one another, and then they all set their brains to work.

"Okay we could try lowering everyone down and pulling them up one by one?" Suggested Atticus.

"And then what if we were to fall, or if the person holding them were to let go?" Mumble pointed out. "Oh gosh, where's Sven when you need him?" Mumble asked aloud.

Age and everyone else was rushing through the passage trying to get to the others. Mary was viewing the way they were running and directed them on a path to the side, which allowed passage down into the trap. Once Hayley, Bo, Ramon, and Carmon arrived on the side with everyone else, the panic was short lived.

"Where have you guys been?" Gloria asked in a hot tempered voice, but still wasn't trying to be mean. Hayley and the others just smiled evilly, and pointed across the chasm to where Erik, Age, Syrena, Zev, Sic, and C.J. were. Everyone was thrilled to see each other, but they didn't seem to mind the stranger penguin which they also saw.

"Mary, Sven, get the kids down there! They're pretty light, shouldn't be hard to carry up." Age yelled to them. Then the two of them swooped down and plucked up the kids. Mary grabbed Gab, and dropped him off with Bo, Sven grabbed Kourtney and dropped her off near Atticus. Jake was delighted to see his friends again, but Nicki was still causing and issue.

"Age…!" Mumble called to him from across the other side. "What about her?" Age then smirked, and carefully made his way down the side or the trap and once he got down he ran over to Nicki.

"Nicki, how bad is it?" She held up her wing to him, and it was stained red, she had broken some bone in her flipper from the fall. "Oh, that's no good." He said to her, and then looked up to Mumble. "Her flipper is broken, but she can walk!" He yelled and helped her up.

Nicki gave him a smiled, but then the area began to rumble, Mary flew up and noticed loose snow collecting at a quick pace, and only one word escaped her beak. "Avalanche!" She screamed to everyone.

"Not again…" Age said sarcastically, but terrified nonetheless. Age hurried Nicki up the side of the chasm where he had come from, and once he was there, he turned around and saw the snowy destruction coming at everyone. "Mary, Sven, grab the kids!" He yelled, and they snatched Gab, Kourtney, Jake, and Syrena, off the ground. Mary was carrying Gab in her talons and Syrena was on her back holding on. It was the same with Sven, Jake in his feet, Kourtney holding on to his back. They flew out of the way just in time, to watch the whole area get blanketed with snow, and just as everyone began sledding for their lives.

"Zev, you're with me!" Age yelled and Zev hopped on Age's back and everyone began racing down the path which, thanks to the buildup of snow, was now sloping downwards. Mary and Sven followed them from the air, and everyone, even Nicki, was just barely racing faster than the avalanche. Mumble and Gloria found that the path lead straight to the ocean after they noticed it from a distance. Age rolled and flipped past many objects, ice piles, debris, and acute tunnels that everyone was forced through. Nicki was in great pain, but held herself together as she just nearly missed being sucked in by the snow behind her again and again. But suddenly, the path just stopped, and everyone sledded right over the edge of the cliff. Although they had escaped the snow, they were now falling down to the ice sheet below. Age looked back and saw the avalanche pour itself over the cliff and continue downwards. He saw that if the kept falling at this rate, they plunge right into it and probably not come out, but he also saw as he looked down that the ice sheet was thin, judging from various holes in the floats. "Everyone, dive! The ice is thin, we'll break it!" Age yelled to everyone, and they all assumed the diving position. Even though this would probably hurt their beaks, it was the only chance they had of surviving the fall and the avalanche. There wasn't a single penguin who was terrified of this, but they dove in courage and valor. Age was the first to dive bomb into the thing ice, and like he though, he smashed right through and sank into the water beneath. Everyone else did the same, and all the holes created from the twelve penguin shattering the light ice, caused it to break as soon as the heavy ice and snow from the avalanche, thrusting the bitter storm into the ocean, and everyone made their way back to safe ice on the shoreline.

Age got out of the water first, and Zev climbed off his back, and collapsed on the ice. Everyone else was soon to follow, and Sven dropped off the chicks and landed, Mary did the same, and all the family member ran to each other's flippers. "Think you bent your beak." Hayley laughed and giggled when she felt Age's beak.

"I think we all did, to a degree." After that, everyone laughed, and the whole group was safe; Age, Hayley, Syrena, Gloria, Mumble, Erik, Bo, Jake, Gab, Atticus, Nicki, Kourtney, Sven, Mary, Sic, C.J., Ramon, Carmon, and of course, Zev. "My beak is gonna hurt for a week." Complained Age playfully.

"How do ya think mine feels?" Atticus snickered jokingly. Zev then ran over to Syrena and she jumped right into his hug. Gab noticed, and he felt upset for some reason. But before he could say anything, Mary flew up over everyone and announced,

"So…are we heading back to Adelie Land or what?" She said sarcastically. Everyone cheered, and Mary flew ahead showing the way.

(Several hours later)

During the time that passed between everyone setting off from their point of safety and to now, nearly to Adelie Land, Mumble and the others had gotten acquainted with the newcomers. Sic, Mary, and C.J. told their stories of the prison, and Zev explained his past and background to Mumble, Hayley, and Gloria. Erik and Bo held flippers the whole walk, the chicks, besides Syrena and Zev just messed around. Ramon and Carmon listened to Sic's trials in the fort after he started going in depth about his personal experiences. Atticus and Nicki asked Zev to tell them his story over again, so he did it just for them. Age just planned a show with Sven once they got to Adelie Land, it'd be a special treat, just for them.

"So this is it?" Hayley said quietly to herself while everything else was going on. Age just barely heard this, and stopped his conversation with Sven and waddled over to her.

"What do you mean Hayley?" Age asked gently. She gave him a calm look,

"Well, we just had another dangerous adventure, like the one we had before. And it just ended so abruptly, I sort of wish that it didn't end so suddenly. Last time our little quest ended, there was this big emotional moment for everyone when you recovered from your skua attack. And here…well, nothing."

"To be honest, I was hoping for a bigger ending myself, but I'm just grateful we're all okay. In the end, that's really all one can ask for." Age declared quietly, and then took her flipper in his. Then he smiled lovingly and turned his gaze in front of them, and he was fear struck.

"Age…what's wrong?" Hayley asked and then looked for herself, and both of them just stopped where they were. A few hundred yards in front of them was a big alien boat. Mumble was the next to notice, and spoke out.

"It's an alien thing. We'll be in no danger if we just pass by, no involvement, and no ruckus." Mumble said to everyone. The whole group took his advice and slowly moved towards and past it. It was obviously in motion, and there were some aliens onboard Sven saw them when he flew by. Before they were completely past it, it stopped, and pulled into the ice and docked. Everyone froze with, except Mumble, he was the only one who dealt with these aliens before. When it came to a complete stop, several aliens climbed off, and held up some weird looking device.

"What is that?" Gloria asked Mumble.

"I don't know, maybe it's another tracker of some kind. Sort of like the one I had." Mumble guessed.

"It has an antenna like you said yours did, so it must be." Syrena observed. Age shot his little a smiled, she still had her smarts. Then an alien said something, but no one could understand what it was.

"That's them alright." It said. Another alien scratched his head,

"Huh, I thought it was further than this, I wonder how they got from there to here so fast." C.J. took another look at the boat from which they came, and his eyes widened with horror, and he rushed over to Zev.

"Zev, that's the boat, the boat that took away your Pa and Mama!" C.J. declared, Zev shook, not wanting to believe it, but then saw he was right, the boat was exactly the same, and the sounds the aliens made were identical to the ones in Zev's mind as well.

Then one of the aliens walked over to C.J. and pulled out another strange object from his pocket. "Don't struggle C.J., they hate that!" Mumble warned. C.J. stood his ground, and after a quick sweep over his flippers with the device, and a sudden beeping sound, the alien said,

"All scanned, he's done his job. Now for the little one…" He said and knelt down to Zev "Your turn little fellow, wanna see your Mother and Father?" It asked him.

Zev didn't know why, but when he went back to the entrance to his boat, he felt like he was supposed to follow. When at first Zev didn't move, it said, "Were not gonna leave without you buddy, and we can't touch you. So come on, we're not going to hurt you we promise." Everyone was at a loss for words hen Zev somehow felt like he was being told to go with them, and then he slowly started waddling towards them. Syrena was the one who ran up behind him and stopped him.

"Zev, what are you doing? You know how I feel about you, you can't just leave like this! What would we all do without you, you're part of the family now!" Syrena begged, and Zev knew what to say.

"Syrena, they're taking me to my Mama and Pa, and they're not going to leave without me. I'm sorry but I don't have a choice." Syrena began to cry walk away, but Zev got an idea, "Come with me…" Zev whispered to her.

Everyone stopped in confusion, even Age stepped up. "Zev, why would you ask her that? You shouldn't even be going, it's way too dangerous!" But Syrena stopped her Pa's rage. The aliens were just watching the bizarre interaction between the penguins.

"Pa…I'll take care of it." She said and walked up to Zev. "Zev…I love you, with all my heart. But I can't go with you, this is my home, I don't know what's out there, I'm too scared."

"I understand…I'll miss you Syrena." Zev said, both his and Syrena's hearts breaking. She started to walk away and she started crying horribly, and stopped when she did.

"Sudden, I wish I never met you…" Zev was even more heartbroken at the statement, he thought he'd die, "That way, I would have to know what this kind of heartbreak feels like." Syrena whimpered out. Even though Zev was relieved that this was why, he still had to make things right and pulled her back to him, and then stared right into her tear filled eyes.

"Syrena…I will never regret knowing you. Not now, not when I'm gone, ever." Zev said, and then he had an idea. **(If I Never Knew You- Love Theme from 'Pocahontas')(By Jon Secada and Shanice)**

Zev: _If I never knew you_

_If I never felt this love_

_I would have no inkling of_

_How precious life can be_

_And if I never held you_

_I would never have a clue_

_How at last I'd find in you_

_The missing part of me_

It was the song they came up with from before. The only difference was, Zev had added so much more than just what they originally had. The aliens didn't seem to mind the noise the little penguin was making.

Zev: _In this world so full of fear_

_Full of rage and lies_

_I can see the truth so clear_

_In your eyes so dry your eyes_

_And I'm so grateful to you_

_I'd have lived my whole life through_

_Lost forever, if I never knew you_

Syrena did in fact dry her eyes of her tears, and sang her own section; it was something she couldn't resist.

Syrena: _If I never knew you_

_I'd be safe but half as real_

_Never knowing I could feel_

_A love so strong and true_

_I'm so grateful to you_

_I'd of lived my whole life through_

_Lost forever, if I never knew you_

It was the song that bound them together, it was never found at such a young age. Age and Hayley both had their beaks open, Syrena never sang this perfectly, and the aliens looked like they liked it. **(Stuff in parenthesis are sung at the same time)**

Zev: _I thought our love would be so beautiful_

Syrena: _Somehow we'd make the whole world bright_

Both: _I never knew that fear and hate could be so strong_

_All they'd leave us were these whispers in the night_

_But still my heart is saying we were right_

Syrena: _Oh, Oh!_

(Syrena: _If I never knew you_

Zev: _There's no moment I regret_)

(Syrena: _If_ _I never knew your love_

Zev: _Since the moment that we met_)

(Syrena: _I would have no inkling of_

Zev: _If our time has gone to fast)_

(Syrena: _How precious life can be_

Zev: _I've lived at last!_)

Everyone, even the aliens, was entranced by the song, it sound far beyond anything anyone had ever heard.

(Syrena: _Oh oh oh!_

Zev: _Yeah, yeah!_)

Both: _I thought our love would be so beautiful_

Syrena: _So beautiful…_

Both: _Somehow we'd make the whole world bright _

Syrena: _I'd thought our love would be so beautiful_

_We'd turn the darkness into light_

Both: _And still my heart is saying we were right_

Zev: _We were right!_

(Zev: _And if I never knew you_

Syrena: _If I never knew you_)

Zev: _I'd have lived my whole life through_

Syrena: _Empty as the sky_

Both: _Never knowing why_

_Lost forever, if I never knew_

Penguin, alien, skua, or puffin alike knew the song was over, and waited for the finally word. And before it was sung, Syrena and Zev leaned in and kissed, followed both saying in unison, "I love you…"

_You_

The song was over, but the bond, and the love, had been made to stay.

Age understood now, as did everyone else, if Zev couldn't be with Syrena, then no one could. By means unknown, the aliens began clapping as if they'd actually heard the singing. "That was amazing, we have got to take that one too!" Shouted one alien.

"Yeah we should, but only if she comes with us willingly, we're not allowed to touch the birds remember?" The other alien said. Then every alien on the ice looked at Syrena and Zev, Syrena then looked back at her Pa and Mama. She waddled up to her Pa and looked up, waiting for an answer. Age just smiled and got tears in his eyes.

"Syrena, you love him, follow your heart sweetie. You must choose your own fate this time." Age breathed, and shed a tear down his face, and he didn't stop smiling. Syrena looked at her Mama then,

"Love can't be broken honey, if you want to go…be safe and come home one day." Hayley said to her chick, beginning to tear up herself. Syrena hugged both of her parents' legs and then turned back to Zev and grabbed his flipper.

She slowly nodded her head, and Zev smiled immensely, then the two together walked over to the aliens who picked them up and climbed back into their very tall, rusty brown, cold boat. The entire group of penguins and birds watched the ship go on and on until it was barely in sight, but just before it disappeared over the horizon, Age heard Syrena sing to him.

'_Till I find my hero's welcome_

_Waiting in…your arms_

Age continued to smile, and he began crying, tears of joy and happiness flowing down his and Hayley's face. No words were said after that, it was a smooth walk to Adelie Land. No disasters, no trouble, no problems, just a short and final walk to Adelie Land.

At the time Syrena and Zev left the group, Adelie Land was very close, so in only a short time, they arrived in sanctuary of the waiting adelies and emperors. Sven flew up to the top of his pillar, and in celebration of their safe arrival, at long last, he began the show that he and Age had worked out only a few hours before. The entire crowd cheered Sven on as he did flips, dives, and other assorted stunts to appease the crowd of penguins, even Mary cheered him on. After the show, it was rather long, Noah and the other Elders gathered round on the moss near the base of Sven's pillar.

"Will every penguin in the Happy Feet family please come forward." Noah declared to the audience. Mumble, Gloria, Erik, Bo, Jake, Age, Hayley, and Gab all came down in front. "Also, will Atticus, Nicki, Kourtney, Ramon, Carmon, Sic, C.J., and Mary come down here and join them." Noah commanded to the crowd. The others joined the group in front of the Elders, "Mumble…" Noah gave his post to him, and he spoke out,

"Penguins of Emperor Land, and of Adelie Land, and even the skuas and puffins from above the ice…the birds you see before you have done acts of bravery and heroism, beyond anything that any of us would ever dream of doing. The type of bird it takes to do these things, had to be made, it's not born. Age…please come forward." Mumble told his son. Age stepped onto the platform with his Pa and looked right at him. "And you Age, you are the most brave, wise, and heroic of them all. Syrena leaving with Zev wasn't an easy decision, but deep down, all who saw it knew it was the right choice. With skills in leadership such as this, and the ability to show courage and kindness unlike any penguin I've ever seen…I give the name, the title, and the honor…of Pathfinder Age." Age's eyes widened, and the crowd cheered wildly, but Mumble silenced them. "Not only have you earned this title my son, but so has everyone else here." Yes it's true, Mumble just gave the title of Pathfinder to every last bird in the group.

Following the ceremony, Gloria declared that a party was in order. Everyone agreed without hesitation, and Gloria struck up the party for every penguin with the help of Mumble performed her heartsong. There were hundreds of different songs and dances that were thrown into the celebration, including The Amigos, Mary doing flying tricks, and Sic actually singing for everyone. But amid all this, Age was missing. Hayley noticed and went to find him, she found him off in the corner of Adelie Land, staring down into the ocean. Hayley knew he wasn't upset, but way out here, the noise from the party was barely heard.

"Doing some thinking Age?" Hayley asked sweetly.

"This is where Pa first came out of the water when he found that alien thing with the Amigos years ago." Age said slowly, and keeping his gaze on the water. "And now, I'm staring at a Pathfinder's reflection, a dream made real." Age said, Hayley just smiled.

"It sure is, you heard what your Pa said, we've all earned the title, you, me, even Sic." Hayley said. "Syrena would be proud of you."

"Yes, she would, of our whole family." Hayley snickered a little at the comment. "What?" He asked.

"Well, not everyone is actually in our family." Age just glared at her and smiled.

"Were a different kind of family. Our family bonds are a little different." Age said softly. Hayley smiled and giggled.

"Family bonds of a different kind?" Age nodded, "Well, I guess you're right, we have become a family over this haven't we?" Age just nodded. And walked up to her and they touched beaks. "And I'm sure your other chick is proud of you too." Age was instantly confused by what she just said.

"Other chick?" Age asked, Hayley smiled once more, took his flipper and placed it on her belly. Age's eyes widened from side to side. "Hayley…you're…?" She nodded, both then squealed with excitement and anticipation, and then hugged and kissed under the stars. And all of a sudden a young voice broke the moment.

"What are ju two doing out here?" It was Pathfinder Ramon, "The fiesta is over here." He said and waddled back to the party.

It didn't matter what everyone had been through all of a sudden, it was a feeling that everything was okay and at peace. Hayley was pregnant with the couple's second chick, everyone made it to Adelie Land safely, they all got the title of Pathfinder, Syrena was safe with Zev wherever they went, and the party was raging like crazy. A sense of satisfaction swept over Age, Hayley pulled him back to the party and once he was there, he really felt at home. The music was loud, everyone was happy, and Age knew that the good times wouldn't end until the summer came to a close, when the ice froze over and everyone went back home.

**So that's the end of the nuclear story, but surprise surprise, there's an epilogue…**


	8. Epilogue: Wherever She May Be

**If you don't play the music while reading this, it's not going to be any fun. This is just a little bit about the triumphant party that was held for all the new Pathfinders, and a little twist to it too!**

Family Bonds of a Different Kind

Epilogue

Wherever She May Be

It was time Nicki stepped up to the stage, and at long last, she wanted to party hard for everyone. It was then that Atticus and Kourtney got up and helped her out with her song, it was a crowd pleaser from the very first lyric. **(Starships-Nicki Minaj)**

Nicki: _Let go to the beach each_

_Let's go get away_

_They say, what they gonna say_

_Have a drink clinck _

_Found the bud light_

_Bad niches like me it's hard to come by_

_The patron, own, let's go get it on_

_The zone, own yes I'm in da zone_

_Is it two three leave a good tip_

_Imma blow all my money and don't give two_

Kourtney sung next and she had a real cool voice for the beat of the song.

Kourtney: _I'm on the floor, floor_

_I love to dance_

_So give me more, more_

'_Till I can't stand_

_Get on the floor, floor_

_Like it's your last chance_

_If you want more, more _

_Then here I am, am_

The chorus was sung by the whole family.

The Whole Family: _Starships, were meant to fly_

_Flippers up, and touch the sky_

_Can't stop cause we're so high_

_Let's do this one more time_

_Oh, oh_

_Starships, we meant to fly_

_Flippers up, and touch the sky_

_Let's do this one last time can't stop_

_We're higher than a mother feather_

Atticus took control of the round.

Atticus: _We're than a mother feather_

_We're higher than a mother feather_

"That's was super catchy Nicki!" Hayley and Bo exclaimed to Nicki as she and her family came down off the stage. "I don't know if I can think of something as catchy as that." Hayley said being extremely modest.

"Oh come girl, go ahead and try!" Nicki told to her.

"Well…okay." Hayley mumbled out.

"I'll help you!" Shouted Bo.

"So will I!" Declared Carmon, who had been listening in; Nicki just smiled and hopped back on stage.

"Alright everyone listen! Up next to keep this party going is three close friends of mine, and they're all new Pathfinders as well! Please welcome, straight from Emperor Land and Adelie Land, Hayley, Bo and Carmon!" Nicki absolutely screamed their names and the crowd went nuts. The three girls rushed on stage, and Hayley instantly had an idea. **(Hotel Nacional-Gloria Estefan)**

Hayley: _Hotel Nacional_

_Dressing very chic_

_One, two, daiquiris_

_Dancin' to the Cuban Beat_

_White pearls teased up hair_

_Lips sticks red to make 'em stare_

_Dramas on like Susan Lucci_

_It's time for Hoochie Coochie_

Bo seemed to like a lot, but she leaned over to Hayley in-between verses and asked, "Who's Susan Lucci?" To which she said shrugged her shoulders, and it was Bo's turn to sing.

Bo: _Say, say, say, goodbye to the sunlight_

_We own the nighttime yeah_

_Say, say, say, goodbye to the sunlight_

_We own the nighttime yeah_

Bo continued, and the crowd so far loved it.

Bo: _Two-toned shoes, favorite dress_

_Need no diamonds to impress_

_Red and white coupe Chevrolet_

_Paparazzi flash away_

_I'm feeling V.I.P_

_It's the only way to be_

_Born for gold like Yamamuchi_

_It's time for hoochie coochie_

Hayley stepped in to do the chorus, and out of courtesy, didn't ask who Yamamuchi was.

Hayley: _Say, say, say, goodbye to the sunlight_

_We own the nighttime yeah_

_Say, say, say, goodbye to the sunlight_

_We own the nighttime yeah_

It was about time Carmon stepped in, and when she did, the Adelie boys went nuts and whistled.

Carmon: _Champagne, caviar, no wedding mess_

_You and me, no need to guess_

_So many nights to share_

_Official love affair_

_Voila we're in Paris_

_Oui, Je t'aime, ca c'est la vie_

_Think "Last Tango" Bertolucci_

_It's time for hoochie coochice _

No asked what 'hoochie coochice' was, or who 'Bertolucci' was, but she was kidding obviously when she said, 'official love affair' for Ramon was her only.

Bo: _Oui, Je t'aime, ca c'est la vie_

_Oui, Je t'aime, ca c'est la vie_

_Oui, Je t'aime, ca c'est la vie_

_Voila!_

Carmon finished, and the whole area, filled with both nations erupted into cheers and whistles.

Hours after the party and the congratulations when everyone was asleep, Age lie awake in his temporary home in Adelie Land. The events of the past few days were unreal to him, and to a point, he was glad they happened. Syrena found her love and followed her heart, and he was expecting to be a father of two. Age drifted off into sleep, with his loving mate in his flippers.

Far away from Adelie Land, somewhere out on the open ocean, the aliens were taking very good care of Syrena and Zev. "There you go little miss, nice and cozy." A lady alien said, and then left Syrena and Zev to their little area on the boat. Syrena then turned to Zev, and though she wanted to go with him, she still missed home already.

"I'm homesick already Zev, can you hold me?" She asked meekly and smiled. Zev just grinned and got up and wrapped his flippers around her and hugged her nice and warm.

"How's that?" He asked her with the stars shining in his eyes.

"Perfect…so where do you think we're going?" Syrena asked him as they both looked at the stars above.

"To my parents, you'll get to meet them, and I'll get to see them. It seems it all worked out. And the best part we'll get to come back someday." Zev said, and this was Syrena's favorite part.

She got to go on another adventure with the one she loved, and then she'd be able to return home. She be sure to tell Gab that she loved Zev and not him. But the thought didn't worry her right now, and shortly after the young couple fell asleep, the boat in motion and speeding towards their next adventure on the mainland.

Later into the night, after Age had finally fallen asleep, it couldn't have been more of a nightmare. He was dreaming of Emperor Land, the sky was a bright green and the aurora was gleaming, but the aurora was a yellow, and rocks were raining down from the sky, crashing into the ice below and killing penguins as it did. Age knew that what he was seeing was nothing but a dream, but it felt so real. Inside the dream, he moved himself about, spinning and looking at all of his surroundings. Everywhere, more and more penguin lost their lives from falling rocks and then there was a massive rumble in the ground and a bright red water flowed past him, burning penguins and taking more lives at it went. Age tried to wake himself up, but he couldn't. Suddenly, he felt like he couldn't breathe, there was a toxic gas in the air choking him to death, and as he looked around once more he saw everyone he knew, being taken by the disasters. Mumble engulfed by red water, Erik taken by a rock, everyone. Just before he himself was suffocated in his dream, he heard Hayley call him. He picked himself up, for he had collapsed on the shattered ice, and turned around only to see her reaching for him a few dozen yards away.

"Age…" She called weakly, and then was struck unconscious by a mystery penguin. Afterwards he laughed maliciously and killed her with a rock. Age couldn't speak; he was being choked by the gas, and then fell himself, dead.

"AGE!" Hayley screamed in real life, and Age shot awake, breathing heavy and sweating uncontrollably. "Age what's wrong? You were calling my name, and screaming in your sleep." Age just looked at her and continued to try and catch his breath. "You had a nightmare didn't you?" She asked him. Age just got up and walked to the opening to their tempera home, and then finally spoke.

"It was only a dream, nothing more. It's can't be real, it's not possible." Age told himself. Hayley walked up next to him, she was noticing his sweating didn't stop, and he was still breathing heavily.

"What did you see?" She asked quietly. Age didn't wanna tell her, but she was his mate. He took a deep breath, and then told her.

"I saw…Emperor Land, it was ruined. Green skies, yellow auroras, falling stars from above; even the ground shook and a red water the caught fire to whatever it touched came from the ground. And everyone we knew was there, and they all got killed. So many innocent penguins…" Hayley gasped at what Age told her, she didn't wanna believe it as much as him. "And you Hayley, you were killed by someone, I don't know who, but he was an Emperor like us."

"And the baby?" Hayley asked concerned for their chick.

"I don't know…" Age confessed.

"What about Syrena?" Hayley asked worried for their daughter.

"Wherever she may be, she's safe as long as she's not here." Age answered.

"What does this mean? Could it be a sign?" Hayley asked him, hoping the answer was 'no'.

"I won't let it happen Hayley, for you, and for our chick. For everyone, whatever this was, I won't let this future come true." Age announced to her. She smiled, she believed him, how could she not?

"Think chick is lucky to have a Pa like you…" Hayley said feeling her belly, and giving Age a kiss.

They fell asleep in each other's flippers that night, no scared of whatever this nightmare was. Whoever the emperor was the Age was clearly out to get him, why, Age didn't know. But even if it cost Age his life, there's no way he let it come true. Not when he's finally got everything he's ever really wanted, a home, friends, family, and a reason to keep on fighting.

**So that's the official end to "Family Bonds of a Different Kind". It was longer and more grueling to write than the original "What are Friends For?" but it was totally worth it, no doubt. I have to say, I think Syrena and Zev are better singers than Age and Hayley, but that's my opinion. The dream Age had is an example of foreshadowing for the future. I do plan on doing another story to finish the series, but not for a long time, I have other stories I wanna write. There's a poll on my page to see what one you guys want next, but as always, happy writing to you and thanks a bunch for making it to the end of the story, I know it was really long! **


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